THE ROUGH GUIDE to
Italy
Idyllic landscapes • Vibrant cities • Amazing art
ITALY AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND 4
6 SLOVENIA
Trento
Trieste
5
A TI OA CR
Turin 1
Venice
2
Genoa
7 Bologna
FRANCE
Florence
8 Perugia
Elba
CORSICA (FR.)
10
Ancona
9 Pescara
ROME
11
12 13
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
SERBIA
3 Milan
Piemonte & HUNGARY Valle d’Aosta Liguria Lombardy & the Lakes Trentino-Alto Adige Venice & the Veneto Friuli-Venezia BOSNIA- Giulia Emilia-Romagna HERZEGOVINA Tuscany Umbria 18 Le Marche Rome & Lazio Abruzzo & Molise Campania Puglia MONTENEG Basilicata & Calabria Sicily Sardinia 1
ADRIATIC SEA
Bari
Naples
17 Cágliari
Potenza 15
TYRRHENIAN SEA Aeolian Islands
14
Catanzaro
IONIAN SEA
Palermo Egadi Islands
16 0
ALGERIA
100 km
TUNISIA
About this book Rough Guides are designed to be good to read and easy to use. The book is divided into the following sections, and you should be able to find whatever you need in one of them. The introductory colour section is designed to give you a feel for Italy, suggesting when to go and what not to miss, and includes a full list of contents. Then comes basics, for pre-departure information and other practicalities. The guide chapters cover Italy’s regions in depth, each starting with a highlights panel, introduction and a map to help you plan your route. Contexts fills you in on history, art and architecture, while individual colour sections introduce Italian food, wine and football. Language gives you an extensive menu reader and enough Italian to get by. The book concludes with all the small print, including details of how to send in updates and corrections, and a comprehensive index.
This tenth edition published March 2011.
The publishers and authors have done their best to ensure the accuracy and currency of all the information in The Rough Guide to Italy, however, they can accept no responsibility for any loss, injury, or inconvenience sustained by any traveller as a result of information or advice contained in the guide.
The Rough Guide to
Italy
written and researched by
Rob Andrews, Ros Belford, Jonathan Buckley, Martin Dunford, Tim Jepson, Lucy Ratcliffe and Celia Woolfrey with additional contributions from
Natasha Foges, Jeffrey Kennedy and Greg Ward
www.roughguides.com
Colour section
1
Introduction ............................... 6 Where to go ............................... 8 When to go .............................. 12 Things not to miss ................... 15
Basics
25
Getting there ............................ 27 Getting around ......................... 31 Accommodation....................... 36 Food and drink ........................ 41 The media ................................ 44 Festivals................................... 45 Sports and outdoor pursuits .... 48 Shopping ................................. 49 Work and study in Italy ............ 51 Travel essentials ...................... 52
Guide 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 G H I
59
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta...61 Liguria ................................. 97 Lombardy and the Lakes ... 139 Trentino-Alto Adige ........... 213 Venice and the Veneto ...... 257 Friuli-Venezia Giulia ........... 343 Emilia-Romagna ................ 369 Tuscany ............................. 415 Umbria .............................. 525 Le Marche ......................... 579 Rome and Lazio ................ 617 Abruzzo and Molise .......... 705
J K L M N
Campania.......................... 731 Puglia ................................ 795 Basilicata and Calabria ..... 839 Sicily ................................. 869 Sardinia ............................. 947
Contexts
| C ONTE NTS |
Contents 985
History ................................... 987 Italian art .............................. 1003 Italian architecture ............... 1012 An A–Z of Italian film ............ 1020 Books .................................. 1027
Language
1037
Italian ................................... 1039 Pronunciation ....................... 1039 Words and phrases .............. 1039 Italian menu reader .............. 1042 Glossary of artistic and architectural terms ............ 1046
Small print & Index
1049
Italian food and wine colour section following p.384
Italian football colour section following p.704
3 Statues in Piazza San Pietro, Rome Beach on the island of Elba
Novara Vercelli
FRANCE
UR
Ventimiglia Monte Carlo
LIG
Como
Genoa
Trento
Vicenza
Pi
Parma Modena
Elba
Livorno
Civitavecchia
av e
Terni
er
Ancona
Rieti
Pescara
ABRUZZO
L’Aquila
Macerata Ascoli Piceno
LE MARCHE
ROME
LAZIO
Pésaro Urbino
SLOVENIA
AUSTRIA
Trieste
SAN MARINO
Venice
Udine
FRIULIVENEZIA GIULIA
Perugia UMBRIA
Rimini
Viterbo
Cortona Grosseto
Siena
Arezzo
Florence
TUSCANY
Lucca A rn o Pisa
Faenza
Ravenna
Po Ferrara
Ad Verona i g e lio Padua Cremona VENETO Mantua
Viareggio
La Spezia
Bolzano
TRENTINOALTO ADIGE Belluno
EMILIAROMAGNA Bologna
Og
Bergamo Brescia
Piacenza
Pavia
CORSICA (FR.)
Sondrio
LOMBARDY
Milan
Alessandria
Po
I A Savona
Asti
Turin
Aosta
no
da
PIEMONTE
VALLE D’AOSTA
SWITZERLAND
ADRIATIC SEA
CROATIA
0
100
200
500
1000
1500
2000
3000
4000
Metres
BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA
HUNGARY
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4
i Ti c
Ad Ti b
ALGERIA
Olbia
Iglesias
TUNISIA
Cágliari
SARDINIA
Porto Torres Sassari
Trapani
Pantelleria
Mazara del Vallo
Egadi Islands
Ustica
TYRRHENIAN SEA
Agrigento
Ragusa
SICILY
Enna
Siracusa
Bari
Taranto
0
100 km
Lecce
Brindisi
IONIAN SEA
Catanzaro
Cosenza
CALABRIA
Reggio di Calabria
Messina
Catania
Matera
BASILICATA
Potenza
PUGLIA
Fóggia
Aeolian Islands
Salerno
NaplesCAMPANIA
Benevento o V o lt u rn
Palermo
Formia
MOLISE Campobasso
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5
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Introduction to
Italy It’s the world’s most celebrated tourist destination, and rightly so. Italy really does have it all: one of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes in Europe; the world’s greatest hoard of art treasures (on display in fittingly spectacular cities and buildings); a climate that is on the whole benign and mild; and, most important of all for many, a delicious and authentic national cuisine. Yet Italy is not perfect. Corruption still reaches to the highest levels, historic cities have been marred by development, and beyond the showpiece sights the country’s infrastructure is visibly straining. But the fact is that many of the clichés of an idyllic Italy still hold true – and once you’ve visited, you might never want to travel anywhere else.
6
If there is a single national Italian characteristic, it’s to embrace life to the full: in the hundreds of local festivals taking place across the country on any given day to celebrate a saint or the local harvest; in the importance placed on good food; in the obsession with clothes and image; and in the daily ritual of the collective evening stroll or passeggiata – a sociable affair celebrated by young and old alike in every town and village across the country. Italy only became a unified state in 1861, and, as a result, Italians often feel more loyalty to their region than to the nation as a whole – something manifest in its different cuisines, dialects, landscapes and often varying
• Italy is a peninsula, shaped rather like a boot, jutting out into the Mediterranean Sea. It covers a surface area of 301,230 square kilometres and includes the islands of Sardinia and Sicily. The distance from the tip of the country’s “toe” to its northern border is about 1380km. Much of the land is mountainous, the highest point being Mont Blanc (4748m) in the north.
standards of living. There is also the country’s enormous cultural legacy: Tuscany alone has more classified historical monuments than any country in the world; there are considerable remnants of the Roman Empire all over the country, notably in Rome itself; and every region retains its own relics of an artistic tradition generally acknowledged to be among the world’s richest. Yet there’s no reason to be intimidated by all this. If you want to lie on a beach, there are any number of places to do so, from the resorts filled with regimented rows of sunbeds and umbrellas favoured by the Italians themselves, to secluded and less developed spots in the south.
• Italy became a nation state in 1861, under King Vittorio Emanuele II, and has been a democratic republic since 1946, when the monarchy was abolished by popular referendum. The parliament consists of two houses, the Senate (315 seats) and the Chamber of Deputies (630 seats); both sit for five-year terms of office and are elected by a system of proportional representation. The president is elected for a sevenyear term by a joint session of parliament and regional representatives. Real power, however, lies with the prime minister, who is generally the leader of the party with the biggest majority in the Chamber of Deputies.
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Giambologna’s Oceano, the Bargello, Florence
Fact file
• Italy’s population is just over 59 million, over 4 million of whom live in the capital, Rome. The country is divided geographically and administratively into 15 regions and 5 autonomous regions. • The average family has 1.27 children – the lowest birth rate in Europe – and 20 percent of the population is over 55. • The average Italian eats 25 kilos of pasta annually, and the nation drinks a staggering 14 billion cups of coffee every year.
7
Positano
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Mountains, too, run the country’s length – from the Alps and Dolomites in the north right along the Apennines, which form the spine of the peninsula. Skiing and other winter sports are practised avidly, and wildlife of all sorts thrives in the national parks.
Where to go he north and central parts of the country are the most “discovered” parts of Italy. The regions of Piemonte and Lombardy, in the northwest, make up the country’s richest and most cosmopolitan region, and the two main centres, Turin and Milan, are its wealthiest cities. In their southern reaches, these regions are flat and scenically dull, especially Lombardy, but in the north the presence of the Alps shapes the character of each: skiing and hiking are prime activities, and the lakes and mountains of Lombardy are time-honoured tourist territory. Liguria, the small coastal province to the south, has long been known as the “Italian Riviera” and is accordingly crowded with sun-seekers for much of the summer. Nonetheless, it’s a beautiful stretch of coast, and its capital, Genoa, is a vibrant, bustling port town with a long seafaring tradition.
T 8
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Much of the most dramatic mountain scenery lies within the smaller northern regions. In the far northwest, the tiny bilingual region of Valle d’Aosta is home to some of the country’s most frequented ski resorts, and is bordered by the tallest of the Alps – the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc. In the northeast, Trentino-Alto Adige, another bilingual region and one in which the national boundary is especially blurred, marks the beginning of the Dolomites mountain range, where Italy’s largest national park, the Stelvio, lies amid some of the country’s most memorable landscapes. The Dolomites stretch into the northeastern regions of the Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. However, here the main focus of interest is, of course, Venice: a unique city, and every bit as beautiful as its reputation would suggest (although this means you won’t be alone in appreciating it). If the crowds are too much, there’s also the arc of historic towns outside the city – Verona, Padua and Vicenza, all centres of interest in their own right, although rather overshadowed by their illustrious neighbour. To the south, the region of Emilia-Romagna was at the heart of Italy’s postwar industrial boom and enjoys a standard of living on a par with Piemonte and Lombardy, although it’s also a traditional stronghold of the Italian Left. Its coast is popular among Italians, and Rimini is about Italy’s brashest (and trendiest) seaside resort, renowned for its nightlife. You may do better to ignore the beaches altogether, however, and concentrate on the ancient centres of Ravenna, Ferrara, Parma and the regional capital of Bologna, one of Italy’s liveliest, most historic but least appreciated cities – and traditionally Italy’s gastronomic and academic capital.
Art Italy’s artistic heritage is a huge part of its appeal. Northern Italy on the whole has the country’s richest crop, but wherever you’re travelling, even the smallest country church can boast a masterpiece or two; remote monasteries and small country towns can hold enticing museums; and the big-city galleries – the Uffizi in Florence, Milan’s Brera, too many to mention in Rome – are stacked full of beautiful paintings and sculptures. Like food, you can find different styles – and the work of different artists – in distinct regions. Of the country’s ancient art, the most obvious draws are the Roman mosaics and murals of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the earlier funereal sculpture and applied arts of the Etruscans of northern Lazio. Siena was home to some of the earliest Gothic stylists of the fourteenth century; Florence bloomed most brightly during the Renaissance of the fifteenth century, and Rome’s most characteristic style is the later Baroque look of the Counter Reformation. Venice, not surprisingly, is the place to see the works of the great Venetian painters, Titian and Tintoretto. Your only problem will be finding the time to take it all in.
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The taste of real Italian ice cream, eaten in Italy, is absolutely unbeatable. Gelato, as it’s known, is the country’s favourite dessert, and there’s no better way to end a day, as Italians do, than with a stroll through the streets sampling a JHODWR while enjoying the cool of the evening. Italian ice cream really is better than any other, and like most Italian food this is down to the local insistence on using whole milk and eggs, and adding only naturally derived flavours. Everywhere but the tiniest village will have at least one gelateria, and many cafés serve ice cream as well. If you want to sample the very best, look for the signs saying “DUWLJLDQDOH”, which means that the ice cream is produced according to strictly traditional methods, or “SURGX]LRQHSURSULD”, which means it’s home-made. There’s usually a veritable cornucopia of flavours (JXVWL) to choose from, from those regarded as the classics – like lemon (OLPRQH) and hazelnut (QRFFLROD) – through staples including vanilla with chocolate chips (VWUDFFLDWHOOD) and strawberry (IUDJROD), to house specialities that might include cinnamon (FDQHOOD), chocolate with chilli pepper (FLRFFRODWRFRQSHSHURQFLQR) or even pumpkin (]XFFD).
Central Italy represents perhaps the most commonly perceived image of the country, and Tuscany, with its classic rolling countryside and the art-packed towns of Florence, Pisa and Siena, to name only the three best-known, is one of its most visited regions. Neighbouring Umbria is similar in all but its tourist numbers, though it gets busier every year, as visitors flock into towns such as Perugia, Spoleto and Assisi. Further east still, Le Marche has gone the same way, with old stone cottages being turned into foreignowned holiday homes; the highlights of the region are the ancient towns of Urbino and Áscoli Piceno. South of Le Marche, the hills begin to pucker into mountains in the twin regions of Abruzzo and Molise, one of Italy’s Aperitivo hour in Florence
10
Ice cream
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The Arena, Verona
remotest areas, centring on one of the country’s highest peaks – the Gran Sasso d’Italia. Molise, particularly, is a taster of the south, as is Lazio to the west, in part a poor and sometimes desolate region whose often rugged landscapes, particularly south of Rome, contrast with the more manicured beauty of the other central regions. Lazio’s real focal point, though, is Rome, Italy’s capital and the one city in the country that owes allegiance neither to the north or south. Rome is a tremendous city quite unlike any other, and in terms of historical sights outstrips everywhere else in the country by some way. The south proper begins with the region of Campania. Its capital, Naples, is a unique, unforgettable city, the spiritual heart of the Italian south, and close to some of Italy’s finest ancient sites in Pompeii and Herculaneum, not to mention the country’s most spectacular stretch of coast around Amalfi. Basilicata and Calabria, which make up the instep and toe of Italy’s boot, are harder territory but still rewarding, the emphasis less on art, more on the landscape and quiet, relatively unspoilt coastlines. Puglia, the “heel” of Italy, has underrated pleasures, too, notably the landscape of its Gargano peninsula, the souk-like qualities of its capital, Bari, and the Baroque glories of Lecce in the far south. As for Sicily, the island is really a place apart, with a wide mixture of attractions ranging from some of the finest preserved Hellenistic treasures in Europe, to a couple of Italy’s most appealing beach
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When to go taly’s climate is one of the most hospitable in the world, with a general pattern of warm, dry summers and mild winters. There are, however, marked regional variations, ranging from the more temperate northern part of the country to the firmly Mediterranean south. Summers are hot and dry along the coastal areas, especially as you move south, cool in the major mountain areas – the Alps and Apennines. Winters are mild in the south of the country, Rome and below, but in the north they can be at least as cold as anywhere in the northern hemisphere, sometimes worse, especially across the plains of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, which can be very inhospitable indeed in January. As regards when to go, if you’re planning to visit popular areas, especially beach resorts, avoid July and especially August, when the weather can be too hot and the crowds at their most congested. In August, when most Italians are on holiday, you can expect the crush to be especially bad in the resorts, and the scene in the major historic cities – Rome, Florence, Venice – to be slightly artificial, as the only people around are fellow tourists. The nicest time to visit, in terms of the weather and lack of crowds, is April to late June, and in
I
Val Pusteria, Trentino-Alto Adige
12
resorts in Taormina and Cefalù, not to mention some gorgeous upland scenery. Come this far south and you’re closer to Africa than Milan, and it shows in the climate, the architecture and the cooking, with couscous featuring on many menus in the west of the island. Sardinia, too, feels far removed from the Italian mainland, especially in its relatively undiscovered interior, although you may be content just to laze on its fine beaches, which are among Italy’s best.
Best of Italy
Activities Gran Paradiso trek, Valle d’Aosta. See p.92 Hiking the Alta Via, Liguria. See p.120 Windsurfing around Riva del Garda, Lombardy. See p.207 Climbing the vie ferrate, Trentino-Alto Adige. See p.220 Kitesurfing, Porto Pollo, Sardinia. See p.976 Natural wonders Toirano caves, Liguria. See p.118 Grotta Gigante, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. See p.355 Piano Grande, Umbria. See p.565 Vesuvius, Campania. See p.761 Strómboli, Sicily. See p.900 Roman sights Verona’s Arena, Veneto. See p.328 The Pantheon, Rome. See p.636 Villa Adriana, Lazio. See p.683 Pompeii and Herculaneum, Campania. See p.759 & p.761 Villa Romana del Casale, Sicily. See p.932
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Travellers have always been drawn to Italy, whether it’s for the landscape, the food or the history – our favourite ways to spend your time are below. For our definitive list of the highlights you really shouldn’t miss, see pp.15–24.
Beaches Lévanto, Liguria. See p.131 Santa Maria di Castellabate, Campania. See p.792 Torre Guaceto, Puglia. See p.827 San Vito Lo Capo, Sicily. See p.939 La Pelosa, Sardinia. See p.979 Scenic drives Porto to Pieve, Lake Garda, Lombardy. See p.207 Great Dolomites Road, Trentino-Alto Adige. See p.249 The Chiantigiana, Tuscany. See p.458 Amalfi Coast road, Campania. See p.781 Alghero to Bosa, Sardinia. See p.966 Unspoiled towns Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna. See p.397 Pienza, Tuscany. See p.511 Urbino, Le Marche. See p.581 Lecce, Puglia. See p.830 Matera, Basilicata. See p.845 Foodie destinations Alba, Piemonte. See p.83 Genoa, Liguria. See p.113 Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. See p.382 Norcia, Umbria. See p.564 Naples, Campania. See p.754
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Sardinian beach life
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September or October. If you’re planning to swim, however, bear in mind that only the south of the country is likely to be warm enough outside the May to September period. Average daily temperatures and rainfall Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
11/3 51
13/3 55
16/6 74
18/8 24/12 27/17 32/18 32/19 27/15 21/12 15/7 78 76 72 44 48 82 102 80
11/4 76
7/-3 63
9/-2 62
14/2 78
17/5 23/10 27/14 28/17 28/17 23/12 18/7 98 78 85 65 67 86 74
12/2 96
3/-2 96
12/4 92
13/5 83
16/7 75
19/9 25/14 27/17 29/18 29/18 27/17 24/13 18/19 68 45 48 18 22 68 130 110
13/7 138
14/7 70
14/7 45
17/8 20/12 25/15 28/19 29/21 30/22 27/18 25/15 20/12 17/10 50 50 20 10 5 20 42 75 70 60
13/4 103
14/4 98
16/6 68
Florence Max/min (ºC) rainfall (mm) Milan Max/min (ºC) rainfall (mm) Naples Max/min (ºC) rainfall (mm) Palermo Max/min (ºC) rainfall (mm) Rome Max/min (ºC) rainfall (mm)
14
18/8 24/13 27/16 28/18 29/18 26/17 23/13 18/8 65 48 34 23 33 68 94 128
13/5 110
things not to miss
It’s not possible to see everything that Italy has to offer in one trip – and we don’t suggest you try. What follows is a selective taste, in no particular order, of the country’s highlights: outstanding buildings and ancient sites, spectacular natural wonders, great food and idyllic beaches. They’re arranged in five colour-coded categories, which you can browse through to find the very best things to see and experience. All entries have a page reference to take you straight into the guide, where you can find out more.
&HQWURVWRULFR5RPH Page 634 • There’s so much to see in Rome that aimlessly wandering the city’s fantastic old centre can yield a surprise at every turn, whether it’s an ancient statue, a marvellous Baroque fountain or a bustling piazza.
01
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02
$JULWXULVPL Page 37 • Farmstays and rural retreats are one of Italy’s lesser-known specialities and can be among the country’s most spectacular and bucolic places to stay. :LQHEDUV See Italian food and wine colour section • Italian wine is undergoing a resurgence, and there’s nothing like sampling local varieties in an enoteca or wine bar, accompanied by a plate of regional cheese and cold meats.
04
/HFFH Page 830 • This exuberant city of Baroque architecture and opulent churches is one of the must-sees of the Italian South.
03
'XRPR0LODQ Page 152 • The world’s largest and – from the outside at least – most attention-grabbing Gothic cathedral.
05
8UELQR Page 581 • This so-called “ideal city” and art capital, created by Federico da Montefeltro, the ultimate Renaissance man, is one of the most memorable of all Italian provincial cities.
07
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3LD]]D6DQ0DUFR 9HQLFH Page 275 • Crowded or not, this is one of Europe’s grandest urban spaces and home to Italy’s most exotic cathedral.
06
17
3RPSHLLDQG +HUFXODQHXP Page 759 & 761 • Probably the two best-preserved Roman sites in the country, destroyed and at the same time preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79.
09
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5DYHQQDpVPRVDLFV Page 402 • Ravenna’s Byzantine mosaics – in the churches of Sant’Apollinare Nuovo and San Vitale – are a stunning testimony to the city’s ranking as the capital of Europe fifteen hundred years ago.
08
6LHQDpV3DOLR Page 487 • Perhaps the most fanatically followed and most violent horse race in the world – an amazing spectacle and a true slice of Sienese life.
10
'XRPR)ORUHQFH Page 430 • Florence’s cathedral dome is one of the most instantly recognizable images in the world – and one of its most significant engineering feats.
11
)RRGLQ (PLOLD 5RPDJQD Page 374 • This region is known as Italy’s gastronomic heart, home to Parma ham, parmesan cheese and balsamic vinegar – all of which are on view at Bologna’s marvellous indoor food market.
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&LQTXH7HUUH Page 129 • These five fishing villages are shoehorned picturesquely into one of the most rugged parts of Liguria’s coastline and linked by a highly scenic coastal walking path.
12
19
14
7KH/DVW6XSSHU0LODQ Page 160 • Leonardo da Vinci’s mural for the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of the world’s most resonant images.
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15
(OED Page 474 • This easily accessible, mountainous Tuscan island offers great beaches and fantastic hiking.
16
7KH8IƂ]L)ORUHQFH Page 434 • One of Italy’s most celebrated collections of art, and – in a city not exactly short on things to see – Florence’s most essential attraction. 'XRPR2UYLHWR Page 574 • One of the country’s finest – and bestsited – cathedrals, with a marvellous fresco cycle by Luca Signorelli.
18
20
6KRSSLQJ Page 166 • Italy’s a great place for a splurge, and where better than in fashion’s commercial home, Milan.
17
*LRWWRpVIUHVFRHV3DGXD Page 314 • The artist’s frescoes in Padua’s Cappella degli Scrovegni constitute one of the great works of European art. 3DUFR 1D]LRQDOH Gp$EUX]]R Page 717 • Italy’s third-largest national park, and probably its wildest, with marvellous walking and wildlife.
20
7XVFDQKLOOWRZQV Page 417 • The classic profile of a Tuscan hill-town is many people’s Italian ideal. Montepulciano, Montalcino and San Gimignano are some of the most beautiful.
21
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19
21
%DVLOLFD GL6DQ )UDQFHVFR $VVLVL Page 518 • The burial place of St Francis and one of Italy’s greatest church buildings, with frescoes by Giotto and Simone Martini.
22
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+LNLQJ LQWKH 'RORPLWHV Page 219 • The spiky landscape of the Dolomites is perfect hiking country, covered in dramatic long-distance trails.
23
7KH,WDOLDQ/DNHV Page 180 • If you can escape the hordes, this region is one of Italy’s most beguiling, with stunning scenery and plenty of activities from windsurfing to walking.
24
9DWLFDQ0XVHXPV5RPH Page 666 • The largest and richest collection of art and culture in the world. You’d be mad to miss it. 0DQWXD Page 173 • The Mantegna frescoes of Mantua’s Palazzo Ducale, and the works of Giulio Romano in the Palazzo Te, make a visit to this ancient and alluring Lombard city hard to resist.
27
0DWHUD Page 845 • A truly unique city, sliced by a ravine containing thousands of sassi – cave dwellings gouged out of the rock that were inhabited till the 1950s.
26
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25
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28
6DUGLQLDpVEHDFKHV Page 949 • There are plenty of places to sun-worship in Italy, but Sardinia’s coastline ranks among one of the most beautiful. $PDOƂ&RDVW Page 781 • Everyone should see the stunning Amalfi Coast at least once in their life.
30
1HDSROLWDQSL]]D Page 754 • You can eat pizza all over Italy, but nowhere is it quite as good as in its home town of Naples, served sizzling-hot straight from a wood-fired oven.
29
24
6LFLO\pV*UHHNUXLQV Page 905, 915 & 929 • The ancient theatres at Siracusa and Taormina are magnificent summer stages for Greek drama, while the temple complex at nearby Agrigento is one of the finest such sites outside Greece itself.
31
Basics
25
Basics Getting there ............................................................................. 27 Getting around .......................................................................... 31 Accommodation........................................................................ 36 Food and drink .......................................................................... 41 The media ................................................................................. 44 Festivals .................................................................................... 45 Sports and outdoor pursuits ..................................................... 48 Shopping................................................................................... 49 Work and study in Italy ............................................................. 51 Travel essentials ........................................................................ 52
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Flights from the UK and Ireland Of the scheduled airlines flying the Italian routes, British Airways (BA) and Alitalia regularly serve most of the country including Turin, Milan, Rome, Bologna, Cagliari, Bari, Pisa, Verona, Venice, Naples and Catania. The majority of the routes are from London but they also fly from Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol. Aer Lingus has direct flights from Dublin to Milan, Bologna, Rome, Catania, Venice and Naples, as well as Cork and Belfast to Rome. Of the low-cost carriers, easyJet, Thomson, Jet2, flybe and Ryanair fly from London and numerous smaller airports to bases throughout Italy and its islands. Prices depend on how far in advance you book and the popularity of the destination, although season is also a factor: a ticket to anywhere between June and September will cost more than in the depths of winter (excluding Christmas and New Year). Note also that it is generally more expensive to fly at weekends. Book far enough in advance with one of the low-cost airlines and you can pick up a ticket for under £100 return, even in summer; book anything less than three weeks in advance and this could triple in price. Scheduled airline fares, booked within a month of travel, will cost around £120 out of season, and £250 in summer.
Flights from the US and Canada Between them Delta, Alitalia and American Airlines offer daily flights from New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago
| Getting there
The easiest way to get to Italy from the UK and Ireland is to fly. The majority of flights go to Milan and Rome, but many other cities and holiday destinations are served by scheduled flights and low-cost carriers alike. From the US and Canada there are direct flights to Milan and Rome, although you could consider flying via London or another European hub and picking up a cheap onward flight from there. There are no direct flights to Italy from South Africa, Australia or New Zealand, but plenty of airlines fly to Milan and Rome via Asian or European cities. Rail connections with the rest of Europe are also good and link well into the comprehensive national network.
BASICS
Getting there
to Rome and Milan; one short layover greatly extends the network. In addition, many European carriers fly to Italy (via their capitals) from all major US and Canadian cities – for example British Airways (via London), Lufthansa (via Frankfurt), KLM (via Amsterdam), and so on. The direct scheduled fares don’t vary as much as you might think, and you’ll more often than not be basing your choice around things like flight timings, routes and gateway cities, ticket restrictions, and even the airline’s reputation for comfort and service. The cheapest round-trip fares to Rome or Milan, travelling midweek in low season, start at around US$700 from New York or Boston, rising to around US$1200 during the summer. Add another US$100–200 for flights from LA, Miami and Chicago. Note that these prices do not include taxes. Air Canada has flights from Toronto to Rome for a low-season fare of Can$400 midweek, increasing to around Can$1000 in high season without taxes.
Flights from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa Return fares to Rome and Milan from the main cities in Australia go for A$1500–1850 in low season, and around A$2000 in high season. You are likely to get most flexibility by travelling with Malaysian, Thai, British Airways or Qantas, which offer a range of discounted Italian tour packages and air passes. There are no direct flights to Italy from New Zealand. Return fares to Rome from New Zealand cost from NZ$2500 depending on the season.
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Four steps to a better kind of travel BASICS
| Getting there
At Rough Guides we are passionately committed to travel. We feel strongly that only through travelling do we truly come to understand the world we live in and the people we share it with – plus tourism has brought a great deal of benefit to developing economies around the world over the last few decades. But the extraordinary growth in tourism has also damaged some places irreparably, and of course climate change is exacerbated by most forms of transport, especially flying. This means that now more than ever it’s important to travel thoughtfully and responsibly, with respect for the cultures you’re visiting – not only to derive the most benefit from your trip but also to preserve the best bits of the planet for everyone to enjoy. At Rough Guides we feel there are four main areas in which you can make a difference: • Travel with a purpose, not just to tick off experiences. Consider spending longer in a place, and getting to know it and its people. • Give thought to how often you fly. Try to avoid short hops by air and more harmful night flights. • Consider alternatives to flying, travelling instead by bus, train, boat and even by bike or on foot where possible. • Make your trips “climate neutral” via a reputable carbon offset scheme. All Rough Guide flights are offset, and every year we donate money to a variety of charities devoted to combating the effects of climate change.
Air New Zealand often has the best deals but KLM, British Airways, Qantas, JAL, Emirates, Malaysian and Thai can all be competitive if bought in advance. Various carriers serve South Africa, usually with a stop in their European or Middle Eastern hub. The best-value carriers are Etihad, Lufthansa and KLM, although BA, Turkish and South African Airways can be competitive if bought far enough in advance. Return fares start at around ZAR6500.
Trains
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Travelling by train to Italy from the UK can be an enjoyable and environmentally friendly way of getting to the country, and you can stop off in other parts of Europe on the way. Trains pass through Paris and head down through France towards Milan. A standard-class return fare from London to Paris using Eurostar (2hr 15min) starts at £70; travelling by high-speed TGV from Paris to Milan (7hr 25min) costs from £95. Fares from Paris to both Rome (15hr) and Venice (13hr) start at £100 return per person in a six-berth couchette. Sleeper trains from France (see Artesia on p.30), head to Turin and Milan (7hr) or to Venice via Milan, Brescia, Verona, Vicenza and Padua (13hr) or to Rome via Piacenza, Parma, Bologna and Florence (15hr). Accommodation
is in four- and six-berth couchettes, and one-, two- and three-berth cabins – the more you pay, the fewer people you share with; women can opt to share with other women if they are travelling alone. All services have a restaurant car and a steward who looks after each carriage. Prices start around £100. If you really want to push the boat out, the Orient Express still runs from London to Venice, offering around 30 hours of pampered luxury starting from £1690, including all meals. Advance booking is essential (and can often save you quite a lot of money); there are also discounts for children and rail-pass holders. Take into account also that if you travel via Paris on Eurostar you will have to change stations, so you should give yourself a good hour (more like 1hr 30min if you have to queue for metro tickets) to travel on the metro from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon (for daytime services) or the Gare de Bercy (for sleeper trains). Allow more time for the return journey across Paris, as there is a minimum thirty-minute check-in for Eurostar departures. Note that there are no left-luggage lockers at the Gare de Bercy. For details on all international rail tickets and passes, ask in person at major train stations, or at the Rail Europe Travel Centre at 1 Regent Street in London. You can also
book online through the agents on p.30. W www.seat61.com is useful for timetabling information.
InterRail InterRail passes (Wwww.interrail.net) are only available to those who have been resident in Europe for six months or more and are not valid in the country of residence. They come in first- and second-class over-26 and (cheaper) under-26 versions. The passes are available to a combination of countries for 5 days within a ten-day period (£230 second class, £147 under-26), 10 days within a 22-day period (£331 second class, £220 under-26), 22 consecutive days (£432 second class, £285 under-26) or one month (£552 second class, £368 under-26). InterRail passes do not include travel between Britain and the Continent, although passholders are eligible for discounts on rail travel in Britain and Northern Ireland and cross-Channel ferries, as well as free travel on the Bríndisi–Patras ferry between Italy and Greece and the Villa San Giovanni–Messina crossing to Sicily.
Eurail A Eurail Pass (Wwww.eurail.com) is for non-European residents and comes in a variety of forms: Italy only, Italy with France, Greece or Spain, Italy with bordering countries or with 20 other European countries. The pass, which must be purchased before arrival in Europe, allows unlimited free first-class train travel in combinations from 10 days to 3 months. A one-month over-26 pass costs €822 (under-26 €535). There are numerous small-group, youth and saver versions, and passes can be purchased online or from the agents listed under “Rail contacts” on p.30.
Airlines, agents and operators
| Getting there
InterRail and Eurail passes offer unlimited rail travel throughout Italy and other European countries, but must be bought before leaving home. See p.32 for details of Italy-only passes.
BASICS
Rail passes
phobia of flying. National Express Eurolines do, however, have occasional bargain offers, and regular, flexible tickets cost £115 to Milan or £135 to Rome, if booked a little in advance. The Milan service departs four times a week and takes around 20 hours; Rome adds a gruelling 10 hours to the trip. Busabout Explorer is a popular option with backpackers. There are various Italian tours available as well as Europe-wide hop-on hop-off services for around £300 per person.
As well as the travel agents offering flightand-accommodation package deals, an increasing number of operators organize specialist holidays to Italy. These set up walking tours, art and archeology holidays, Italian food and wine jaunts, short breaks to coincide with opera festivals or even football matches. Finally, if you want to rent a car in Italy, it’s well worth checking with tour operators (and flight agents) before you leave, as some fly-drive deals work out very cheaply.
Airlines Aer Lingus Wwww.aerlingus.com. Air Canada Wwww.aircanada.com. Air New Zealand Wwww.airnz.co.nz. Alitalia Wwww.alitalia.com. American Airlines W www.aa.com. bmibaby Wwww.bmibaby.com. British Airways W www.ba.com. Delta Wwww.delta.com. easyJet W www.easyjet.com. Etihad Airways W www.etihadairways.com. flybe Wwww.flybe.com. JAL (Japan Air Lines) W www.jal.com. Jet2 Wwww.jet2.com. KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) Wwww.klm.com. Lufthansa Wwww.lufthansa.com. Malaysia Airlines W www.malaysia-airlines.com. Qantas Airways W www.qantas.com. Ryanair W www.ryanair.com. Thai Airways W www.thaiair.com. Thomson Whttp://flights.thomson.co.uk.
Agents and tour operators Buses It’s difficult to see why anyone would want to travel to Italy by bus, unless they had a
North South Travel UK T01245/608 291, Wwww.northsouthtravel.co.uk. Friendly, competitive travel agency, offering discounted fares worldwide.
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BASICS
| Getting there
Profits are used to support projects in the developing world, especially the promotion of sustainable tourism. STA Travel UK T 0871/2300 040, US T1-800/ 781-4040, Australia T 134 782, New Zealand T 0800/474 400, South Africa T0861/781 781; Wwww.statravel.co.uk. Worldwide specialists in independent travel; also student IDs, travel insurance, car rental, rail passes, and more. Good discounts for students and under-26s. Trailfinders UK T 0845/058 5858, Ireland T 01/677 7888, Australia T 1300/780 212; Wwww.trailfinders.com. One of the best-informed and most efficient agents for independent travellers. Travel CUTS Canada T 1-866/246-9762, US T 1-800/592-2887; W www.travelcuts.com. Canadian youth and student travel firm. USIT Ireland T 01/602 1906, Northern Ireland T 028/9032 7111; W www.usit.ie. Ireland’s main student and youth travel specialists.
Italy specialists Abercromie and Kent UK T 0845/618 2203, Wwww.abercrombiekent.co.uk. Luxury cultural holidays. Adventure Travel Company NZ T04/494 7180, W www.adventuretravel.co.nz. Hotels and car rental, plus walking and cycling tours in the Italian Lakes. Alternative Travel Group UK T01865/315 678, W www.atg-oxford.co.uk. Walking and cycling holidays. Backroads US T 1-800/462-2848 or 510/5271555, Wwww.backroads.com. Cooking, cycling and hiking holidays, including trips suitable for families. Central Holidays US T 1-800/539-7098, Wwww .centralholidays.com. Wide range of independent and escorted tours plus city breaks. CIT US & Canada T 1-800/387-0711, W www .cittours.ca. Well-organized coach and rail tours, plus advice for independent travellers on hotels and car rental.
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Long Travel UK T01694/722193, Wwww .long-travel.co.uk. Well-established family company specializing in southern Italy, Sicily and Sardinia. Martin Randall Travel UK T020/8742 3355, Wwww.martinrandall.com. Cultural tours focusing on art, architecture, music, archeology, gastronomy and history. Mountain Travel–Sobek US T1-888/831-7526, Wwww.mtsobek.com. Hiking and special-interest tours around Italy. Walkabout Gourmet Adventures Australia T02/9871 5526, Wwww.walkaboutgourmet.com. Classy food, wine and walking tours throughout the country.
Rail contacts Artesia W www.artesia.eu. Eurail Wwww.eurail.com. European Rail UK T020/7619 1083, W www .europeanrail.com. Europrail International Canada T1-888/6679734, W www.europrail.net. Eurostar UK T0843/218 6186, Wwww .eurostar.com. International Rail T0871/231 0790, Wwww .international-rail.com. InterRail Wwww.interrailnet.com. Rail Europe UK T0844/848 4070, Wwww .raileurope.co.uk; US T1-800/622-8600, Canada T1-800/361-7245, Wwww.raileurope.com. Rail Plus Australia T1300/555 003, Wwww .railplus.com.au. The Man in Seat 61 W www.seat61.com.
Bus contacts Busabout UK T0845/026 7514, Wwww .busabout.com. Eurolines UK T0871/781 8181, W www .eurolines.com.
In terms of public transport, the easiest way of travelling around Italy is by train. The Italian train system is one of the least expensive in Europe, reasonably comprehensive, and, in the north of the country at least, pretty efficient. It’s also far preferable over long distances to the fragmented, localized and sometimes grindingly slow bus service. Local buses, though, can be very efficient, and where it’s actually a better idea to take a bus, we’ve made this clear in the text. Internal flights are coming down in price and there are some good deals to be had on flights to the islands. Ferries go to all the Italian islands, and also ply routes to Greece, Albania, Croatia, Malta, Slovenia, Corsica and Tunisia. We’ve detailed train, bus and ferry frequencies in the “Travel details” sections at the end of each chapter of the Guide; note that these refer to regular working-day schedules (Mon–Sat); services can be much reduced or even nonexistent on Sundays and in August.
| Getting around
Italy is a big country and unless you opt for a one-base holiday you will probably find yourself travelling around a fair bit. The rail service is good value and relatively efficient while regular ferries service the islands and local buses link more out-of-the-way areas. Internal flights can be worthwhile for some of the longer journeys. Naturally, you’ll have most flexibility with your own transport. Roads are well maintained in most of the country although traffic can be heavy and autostrada tolls mount up. Off the main routes, most roads are quiet and pretty well maintained, making cycling a very pleasant – and very popular – means of getting around.
BASICS
Getting around
Italian cities with cities such as Paris, Vienna, Hamburg and Barcelona. A new high-speed Eurostar network, the Frecciarossa, Frecciabianca and Frecciargento (red, white and silver arrows), links Rome and Milan with strategic destinations across the country in record time. Reservations are required before you board the train for all of these services, even if you have a rail pass (see p.32). Diretto (D) and Interregionale (IR) trains are the common-or-garden long-distance expresses, calling only at larger stations. Although reservations are not required for these trains, it’s worth reserving seats if you’re making a long journey, especially in summer, when they can get very crowded. Reservations can be made at any major train station or travel agent in Italy, or via Trenitalia agents (see p.30). Lastly, there are the Regionale (R) services, which stop at every place with a population higher than zero. In addition to the routes operated by FS, there are a number of privately run lines, using separate stations but charging similar fares. Where they’re worth using, these are detailed in the Guide.
By rail Italian trains are run by Ferrovie dello Stato (FS; Wwww.ferroviedellostato.it), under the brand name Trenitalia (T89.20.21), operating a comprehensive network across the country with numerous types of trains. The Eurostar Italia (ES) runs between major cities, slightly faster and usually with newer rolling stock than the Intercity (IC) options. Eurocity (EC) and Euronight (EN) trains connect the major
Stamp it All stations have yellow validating machines in which passengers must stamp their ticket before embarking on their journey. Look out for them as you come onto the platform: if you fail to validate your ticket you’ll be given a hefty on-the-spot fine.
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Timetables and fares
BASICS
| Getting around
Timings and route information are posted up at train stations, and we give a rough idea of frequencies and journey times in the “Travel details” sections at the end of each chapter. If you’re travelling extensively it would be worth investing in a copy of the twice-yearly In Treno In Tutt’Italia timetable (€4.50), which covers the main routes and is sold at train-station newspaper stands. Fares are good value; they are calculated by the kilometre and easy to work out for each journey. The timetables give the prices per kilometre but as a rough guide, a second-class one-way fare for the six-hour trip from Rome to Milan currently costs about €48 by Interregionale and €90 on the three-hour Frecciarossa. Sleepers (cuccetta) are available on many longdistance services, and prices vary according to the length of journey and whether or not you’re sharing. Children aged 4–12 pay half price; under-4s (not occupying a seat) travel free. Return tickets are valid within two months of the outward journey, but as two one-way tickets cost the same it’s hardly worth bothering.
Rail passes A rail pass is unlikely to be worth your while for an Italy-only trip. Prices are low and as you need to have a reservation for the faster trains, the convenience of a pass is outweighed by the extra queues and booking fees. Italy-only passes are also available for 3 (£104 second class, £68 under-26), 4 (£128
second class, £83 under-26), 6 (£174 second class, £114 under-26) or 9 (£211 second class, £138 under-26) days. Europe-wide InterRail and Eurail passes (see p.29) for unlimited travel in Europe are, however, accepted on the Trenitalia network; children’s, youth (under-26) and group tickets are available.
By bus Trains don’t go everywhere and sooner or later you’ll probably have to use regional buses (autobus). Nearly all places are connected by some kind of bus service, but in out-of-the-way towns and villages schedules can be sketchy and are drastically reduced – sometimes nonexistent – at weekends, especially on Sundays. Bear in mind also that in rural areas schedules are often designed with the working and/or school day in mind – meaning a frighteningly early start if you want to catch that day’s one bus out of town, and occasionally a complete absence of services during school holidays. There’s no national bus company, though a few regional ones do operate beyond their own immediate area. Bus terminals are often conveniently located next to the train station; wherever possible we’ve detailed their whereabouts in the text, but if you’re not sure ask for directions to the autostazione. In smaller towns and villages, most buses pull in at the central piazza. Timetables are worth picking up from the local company’s office, bus stations or on the bus. Buy tickets immediately before you travel from the bus station ticket office,
Timetable reading
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On timetables — and parking signs too — lavorativo or feriale is the word for the Monday to Saturday service, represented by two crossed hammers; and festivo means that a train runs only on Sundays and holidays, symbolized by a Christian cross. Some other common terms on timetables are: escluso sabato not including Saturdays si effettua fino al… running until… si effettua dal… starting from… giornalmente daily prenotazione obbligatoria reservation obligatory estivo summer invernale winter
Walk/don’t walk
By car Travelling by car in Italy is relatively painless, though cities and their ring roads can be hard work. The roads are good, the motorway network very comprehensive, and the notorious Italian drivers rather less erratic than their reputation suggests. The best plan is to avoid driving in cities as much as possible; the congestion, proliferation of complex one-way systems and confusing signage can make it a nightmare. Bear in mind that traffic can be heavy on main roads (particularly over public holiday weekends and the first and last weekends of August) and appalling in city centres. Rush hour during the week usually runs from 7.30am to 9am and from 5pm to 9pm, when roads in and around the major cities can be gridlocked.
| Getting around
or on the bus itself; on longer hauls you can try to buy them in advance direct from the bus company, but seat reservations are not normally possible. If you want to get off, ask posso scendere?; “the next stop” is la prossima fermata. City buses are always cheap, usually costing a flat fare of around €1. Tickets are available from a variety of sources, commonly newsagents and tobacconists, but also from anywhere displaying a sticker saying “tickets” or “biglietti”, including many campsite shops and hotel front desks. Once on board, you must validate your ticket in the machine at the front or back of the bus. The whole system is based on trust, though in most cities checks for fare-dodging are regularly made, and hefty spot-fines are levied against offenders. A useful site is Wwww.busstation.net/main /busita.htm, which has links to websites of hundreds of Italian bus companies.
BASICS
It’s worth bearing in mind that cars do not automatically stop at pedestrian crossings in Italy. Even on crossings with traffic lights you can be subjected to some close calls. Note that when there’s a green light for pedestrians to go, it may be green for one of the lines of traffic too.
Although Italians are by no means the world’s worst drivers they don’t win any safety prizes either. The secret is to make it very clear what you’re going to do – and then do it. A particular danger for unaccustomed drivers is the large number of scooters that can appear suddenly from the blind spot or dash across junctions and red lights with alarming recklessness. Most petrol stations give you the choice of self-service (Fai da te) or, for a few centesimi more per litre, someone will fill the tank and usually wipe down the windscreen while they’re at it. Petrol stations often have the same working hours as shops, which means they’ll be closed for a couple of hours at noon, shut up shop at around 7pm and are likely to be closed on Sundays. Outside these times many have a self-service facility payable into a machine between the pumps by bank note or, more rarely, credit card; these are often not well advertised so you might need to go onto the forecourt to check.
Rules of the road Rules of the road are straightforward: drive on the right; at junctions, where there’s any ambiguity, give precedence to vehicles coming from the right; observe the speed limits – 50kph in built-up areas, 110kph on dual carriageways and 130kph on autostradas (for camper vans, these limits are 50kph, 80kph and 100kph respectively); and don’t drink and drive. Drivers need to have their dipped headlights on while using any road outside a built-up area. The centres of many Italian towns and villages have Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL; restricted traffic areas) where vehicle access is for residents only. These zones are marked by a red-rimmed circular road sign giving the hours and days of the limitation and are vigorously enforced, often by police on the ground as well as by cameras. Note that car-hire companies invariably pass the fine on. If your hotel is within one of these areas make sure the reception arranges a provisional transit permit with the local police. As regards documentation, if you’re bringing your own car, as well as current insurance, you need a valid driving licence and an international driving permit if you’re a non-EU licence holder. If you hold a UK
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BASICS
| Getting around
pre-1991 driving licence you’ll need an international driving permit or to update your licence to a photocard version. It’s compulsory to carry your car documents and passport while you’re driving, and you can be fined on the spot if you cannot present them when stopped by the police – not an uncommon occurrence. It’s also obligatory to carry a warning triangle and a fluorescent jacket in case of breakdown. For more information consult W www.theaa.com.
Motorway driving All motorways (autostrade) are toll roads. Take a ticket as you join the motorway and pay on exit; the amount due is flashed up on a screen in front of you. Paying by cash is the most straightforward option – booths are marked “cash/contanti” and colourcoded white. To pay by credit card follow the Viacard sign (colour-coded blue). Avoid the Telepass lane (colour-coded yellow), which is for drivers holding post-paid electronic cards. Be alert as you get into lane as traffic zigzags in and out at high speed to get pole position at the shortest-looking queue. Rates aren’t especially high but they can mount up on a long journey. Since other roads can be frustratingly slow, tolls are well worth it over long distances, but be prepared for queues at exits at peak times.
Parking
34
Parking can be a problem. Don’t be surprised to see cars parked just about anywhere, notably on pavements, seemingly working tram lines and bus stops – it would be unwise to follow suit. Parking attendants are especially active in tourist areas and if you get fed up with driving around and settle for a space in a zona di rimozione (tow-away zone), don’t expect your car to be there when you get back. Most towns and villages have pay-anddisplay areas just outside the centre, but they can get very full during high season. An increasing number of towns operate a colour-coded parking scheme: blue-zone parking spaces (delineated by a blue line) usually have a maximum stay of one or two hours; they cost around €0.70–1.50 per hour (pay at meters, to attendants wearing
authorizing badges or buy scratch-cards from local tobacconists) but are sometimes free at lunchtimes, after 8pm and on Sundays. Meters can usually be fed the night before to allow a lie-in in the morning. Much coveted white-zone spaces (white lines) are free; yellow-zone areas (yellow lines) are reserved for residents. In smaller towns, to use the designated areas, it’s handy to have a mini clock-like dial which you set and display in the windscreen, to indicate when you parked and that you’re still within the allowed limit. Rental cars generally come equipped with these, and some tourist offices have them too. Car parks, usually small, enclosed garages, are universally expensive, costing up to €20 a day in big cities; it’s not unknown for hotels to state that they have parking and then direct you to the nearest paying garage. Parking at night is easier than during the day, but make sure you’re not parked in a street that turns into a market in the morning or on the one day of the week when it’s cleaned in the small hours, otherwise you’re likely to be towed. Never leave anything visible in the car when you’re not using it, including the radio. Certain cities have appalling reputations for theft – in Naples, some rental agencies won’t insure a car left anywhere except in a locked garage. A patrolled car park is probably the safest option for during the night, especially if you have foreign plates.
Breakdown If you break down, dial T116 and tell the operator where you are, the type of car you’re in, and your registration number: the nearest office of the Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) will send someone out to fix your car – however, it’s not a free service and can work out very expensive if you need a tow. For this reason you might consider arranging cover with a motoring organization in your home country before you leave. Any ACI office in Italy can tell you where to get spare parts for your particular car.
Car rental Car rental in Italy is pricey, especially in high season, at around €200–300 per week for a
Avis W www.avis.com. Budget W www.budget.com. Europcar Wwww.europcar.com. Hertz W www.hertz.com. Maggiore W www.maggiore.com. National W www.nationalcar.com. SIXT W www.sixt.com. Thrifty Wwww.thrifty.com.
Camper van rental Camper van or mobile home holidays are becoming increasingly popular in Italy and the rental market is opening up to meet the demand. To add to the obvious convenience of this type of holiday, facilities in campsites are usually dependable (see p.40), and more and more resorts have created free camper van parking areas (sosta camper). The following are just a selection of the companies offering new (or newish) quality vehicles for rent. Prices are usually around €900 for a four-berth vehicle for a week in high season, with unlimited mileage. Blu rent W www.blurent.com. Comocaravan Wwww.comocaravan.it. Magicamper W www.magicamper.com.
By plane In line with the rest of European airspace, internal airfares in Italy have been revolutionized in the last couple of years. Small companies have taken on the ailing state airline and what used to be a form of
Airlines Air Italy W www.airitaly.com. Airone Wwww.flyairone.it. Alitalia Wwww.alitalia.it. Meridiana W www.meridiana.it. Windjet Wwww.volawindjet.it.
| Getting around
Car rental agencies
business transport has become a goodvalue, convenient way of getting around the country. Budget airlines open and close every season and there are often special deals being advertised; it pays to shop around and, as always, book as far in advance as you can.
BASICS
small hatchback, with unlimited mileage, if booked in advance. The major chains have offices in all the larger cities and at airports and train stations; addresses are detailed in the “Listings” sections at the end of city accounts throughout the Guide. Local firms can be less expensive and often have an office at the airport, but generally the best deals are to be had by arranging things in advance, through one of the agents listed below or with specialist tour operators when you book your flight or holiday. You need to be over 21 to rent a car in Italy and will need a credit card to act as a deposit when picking up your vehicle. Satellite navigation systems are available to rent with cars from many outlets; make sure to reserve in advance.
By ferry and hydrofoil Italy has a well-developed network of ferries and hydrofoils operated by a number of different private companies. Large car ferries connect the major islands of Sardinia and Sicily with the mainland ports of Genoa, Livorno, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Fiumicino and Naples, while the smaller island groupings – the Trémiti islands, the Bay of Naples islands, the Pontine islands – are usually linked to a number of nearby mainland towns. The larger lakes in the north of the country are also well served with regular ferries in season, although these are drastically reduced in winter. Fares are reasonable, and on some of the more popular services – to Sardinia, for example – you should book well in advance in summer, especially if you’re taking a vehicle across. Remember, too, that sailings are cut outside the summer months, and some services stop altogether. You’ll find a broad guide to journey times and frequencies in the “Travel details” section at the end of relevant chapters; for full up-to-date schedules and prices, check the Italian website Wwww.traghetti.com.
By bike and motorbike Cycling is a very popular sport and mode of transport in much of Italy. Italians in small towns and villages are welcoming to cyclists, and hotels and hostels will take your bike in overnight for safekeeping. On the islands, in the mountains, in major resorts and larger cities, it’s usually possible to rent a bike, but in rural areas rental facilities are few and far between.
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BASICS
| Accommodation
Serious cyclists might consider staying at one of a chain of hotels that cater specifically for cycling enthusiasts. Each hotel has a secure room for your bike, a maintenance workshop, overnight laundry facilities, suggested itineraries and group-tour possibilities, a doctor on hand and even dietary consultation. Contact T 39/0541.307.531, Wwww.italybikehotels.it for further information. Bikes can be taken on local and slower inter-regional trains if you buy a supplemento bici (bike supplement) for around €4, or for free in a bike bag; on faster Eurostar or
equivalent trains cycles must be placed in bike bags. An alternative is to tour by motorbike, though again there are relatively few places to rent one. Mopeds and scooters are comparatively easy to find: everyone in Italy, from kids to grannies, rides one of these and although they’re not really built for any kind of longdistance travel, for shooting around towns and islands they’re ideal; we’ve detailed outlets in the chapters. Crash helmets are compulsory, though in the south at least it’s a law that seems to be largely ignored.
Accommodation There is an infinite variety of accommodation available in Italy, from mountain monasteries to boutique hotels, from youth hostels to self-catering villas, familyrun hotels and rural farmhouses. While rarely particularly cheap, standards are fairly reliable and accommodation is strictly regulated. Tourist offices have details of the official rates in their town or region. In popular resorts and the major cities booking ahead is advisable, particularly during July or August, while for Venice, Rome and Florence it’s pretty much essential to book ahead from Easter until late September and over Christmas and New Year. Make sure you get confirmation of the booking by fax, email or letter – it’s far from uncommon to arrive and find all knowledge of your booking is denied. The phrases on p.1041 should help you get over the language barrier, though in many places you
should be able to find someone who speaks at least some English.
Hotels Hotels in Italy come tagged with a confusing variety of names, and, although the differences have become minimal, you will still find a variety of names used for what are basically private hotel facilities. A locanda is historically the most basic option, although these days it is often used by boutique hotels and the like to conjure up images of simple,
Accommodation price codes
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Hotels in this guide have been categorized according to the price codes outlined below. They represent the cheapest rates for a double room in high season (July & Aug), although in places like Florence and Venice you can expect high-season rates from March to the end of October. Huge discounts are often to be found online, especially if you’re staying three nights or more – check websites for current deals. 1 €60 and under 4 €121–150 7 €251–300 2 €61–90 5 €151–200 8 €301–400 3 €91–120 6 €201–250 9 €401 and over
Agriturismo
Bed and breakfasts Bed and breakfast schemes are becoming a very popular alternative form of accommodation, with attractive, good-value options becoming common. The best ones offer a real flavour of Italian home life, though they’re not necessarily cheaper than an inexpensive hotel, and they rarely accept credit cards. Some places going under the name are actually little different from private rooms, with the owners not living on the premises, but you’ll invariably find them clean and well maintained. The most recent
| Accommodation
traditional hospitality. Pensione, albergo or hotel are all commonly used. Rates vary greatly between the south and north of Italy, as well as between tourist hotspots and more rural areas. The official star system is based on facilities (TV in rooms, swimming pool, and so on) rather than character or comfort – or even price. In very busy places it’s not unusual to have to stay for a minimum of three nights, and many proprietors will add the price of breakfast to your bill whether you want it or not; try to ask for accommodation only – you can always eat more cheaply in a bar. Be warned, too, that in major resorts you will often be forced to take half or full board in high season. Note that people travelling alone may sometimes have to pay for the price of a double room even when they only need a single, though it can also work the other way round – if all their single rooms are taken, a hotelier may well put you in a double room but only charge the single rate.
BASICS
The agriturismo scheme, which enables farmers to rent out converted barns and farm buildings to tourists, has boomed in recent years. Usually these comprise a self-contained flat or building, though a few places just rent rooms on a bed-andbreakfast basis. While some rooms are still annexed to working farms or vineyards, many are smart, self-contained rural vacation properties; attractions may include home-grown food, swimming pools and a range of activities from walking and riding to archery and mountain biking. Many agriturismi have a minimum-stay requirement of one week in busy periods. Rates start at around €120 per night for self-contained places with two bedrooms. Tourist offices keep lists of local properties; alternatively, you can search one of the growing number of agriturismo websites – there are hundreds of properties at Wwww .agriturismo.it, www.agriturismo.com, www.agriitalia.it and www.agriturist.it.
trend is for boutique B&Bs, often in stylishly revamped old palazzi. For an extensive list of Italy’s B&Bs check out Wwww.bbitalia.it, www.bbplanet.it and www.caffelletto.it.
Hostels There is a good network of private and HI hostels throughout the country. These range from family-friendly institutions on the edge of large cities to sociable towncentre backpacker-focused options. Rates at official HI hostels in Italy are around €18 per night for a dorm bed, while private citycentre establishments are usually closer to €25. You can easily base a tour of the country around them, although for two people travelling together they don’t always represent a massive saving on the cheapest double hotel room. If you’re travelling on your own, on the other hand, hostels are usually more sociable and can work out a lot cheaper; many have facilities such as inexpensive restaurants and self-catering kitchens that enable you to cut costs further. In a few cases, too – notably Castroreale in Sicily and Montagnana in the Veneto – the hostels are beautifully located and in many ways preferable to any hotel. HI hostels are members of the official International Youth Hostel Federation, and you’ll need to be a member of the organization in order to use them – you can join through your home country’s youth hostelling organization (see p.39) or often at the hostel on arrival. You need to reserve well ahead in the summer, most conveniently by using Wwww .hostelbookers.com or www.hostelworld.com.
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| Accommodation
In some cities, it’s also possible to stay in student accommodation vacated by Italian students for the summer. This is usually confined to July and August, but accommodation is generally in individual rooms and can work out a lot cheaper than a straight hotel room. Again you’ll need to book in advance: we’ve listed possible places in the text, and you should contact them as far ahead as possible to be sure of a room.
Youth hostel associations Australia T02/9261 1111, W www.yha.org.au. Canada T 613/237-7884, Wwww.hihostels.ca. Ireland T 01/830 4555, Wwww.irelandyha.org. New Zealand T0800/278 299, W www.yha.co.nz. Northern Ireland T 028/9032 4733, Wwww.hini .org.uk. Scotland T0845/293 7373, Wwww.syha.org.uk. UK T 01629/592 700, Wwww.yha.org.uk. US T301/495-1240, Wwww.hiayh.org.
Monasteries and convents You will also come across accommodation operated by religious organizations –
convents (normally for women only), welcome houses and the like, again with a mixture of dormitory and individual rooms, which can sometimes be a way of cutting costs as well as meeting like-minded people. Most operate a curfew of some sort, and you should bear in mind that they don’t always work out a great deal cheaper than a bottom-line one-star hotel. Information can be found in the local tourist offices. An online agency, Monastery Stays (Wwww .monasterystays.com), offers a centralized booking service for more than two hundred and fifty convents and monasteries around the country. There are no restrictions on age, sex or faith in the establishments they cover, all rooms have private bathrooms and few places have early curfews.
Self-catering Self-catering is becoming an increasingly feasible option for visitors to Italy’s cities. High prices mean that renting rooms or an apartment can be an attractive, cost-effective choice. Usually in well-located positions in city centres, and available for anything from a
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| Accommodation
couple of nights to a month or so, they come equipped with bedding and kitchen utensils, and there’s nothing like shopping for supplies in a local market to make you feel part of Italian daily life, even on a short break. If you’re not intending to travel around a lot it might be worth renting a villa or farmhouse for a week or two. Most tend to be located in the affluent northern areas of Italy, especially Tuscany and Umbria, although attractive options are also available on Sicily and Sardinia and popping up in other rural locations too. They don’t come cheap, but are of a high standard and often enjoy marvellous locations.
Villa and apartment companies Bridgewater T 0161/787 8587, Wwww.bridge water-travel.co.uk. A company with over 25 years’ experience sourcing apartments, agriturismi and country hotels throughout Italy. Friendly Rentals T0800/520 0373, Wwww .friendlyrentals.com. Well-run company offering stylish properties in Milan, Florence and Rome to suit most budgets. Holiday Rentals Wwww.holiday-rentals.co.uk. This site puts you in touch directly with the owners of over a thousand Italian properties. Ilios Travel T0845/675 2601, Wwww.iliostravel .com. High-quality selection of country mansions and villas, in various parts of the country. Italian Breaks T 020/8666 0407, Wwww.italian breaks.com. Accommodation to suit most budgets. Italian Connection T 01424/728 900, Wwww .italian-connection.co.uk. Major upmarket operator with an array of villas and smart apartments throughout the country. Italian Homes T 020/3178 4180, Wwww .Italian-homes.com. Apartments in Venice, Rome and Florence. Livingitalia.com T 39.06.3211.0998, W www.livingitalia.com. Offers apartments in Florence and Rome.
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Owners’ Syndicate T020/7401 1086, Wwww .ownerssyndicate.co.uk. Properties throughout the country but specializing in Tuscany and Umbria. Unusual Villa & Island Rentals US T804/2882823, W www.unusualvillarentals.com. US company offering some spectacular properties in some of the most beautiful locations in Italy.
Mountain refuges If you’re planning on hiking and climbing, it’s worth checking out the rifugi network, consisting of about five hundred mountain huts, owned by the Club Alpino Italiano (CAI T02.205.7231, Wwww.cai.it). Non-members can use them for around €10 a night, though you should book at least ten days in advance. There are also private rifugi that charge around double this. Most are fairly spartan, with bunks in unheated dorms, but their settings can be magnificent and usually leave you well placed to continue your hike the next day. Bear in mind that the word rifugio can be used for anything from a smart chalethotel to a snack bar at the top of a cable-car line. We’ve indicated in the text where this is the case.
Camping Camping is popular in Italy and there are plenty of sites, mostly on the coast and in the mountains, and generally open April to September (though winter “camping” – in caravans and camper vans – is common in ski areas). The majority are well equipped and often have bungalows, mainly with four to six beds. On the coast in high season you can expect to pay a daily rate of around €12 per person plus €10–15 per tent or caravan and €8 per vehicle. Local tourist offices have details of nearby sites, or visit Wwww .camping.it.
Restaurants Traditionally, a trattoria is a cheaper and more basic purveyor of home-style cooking (cucina casalinga), while a ristorante is more upmarket, though the two are often interchangeable. Osterie are common too, basically an old-fashioned restaurant or pub-like place specializing in home cooking, though some upmarket places with pretensions to established antiquity borrow the name. A pizzeria is always best with a forno a legna (wood-burning oven) rather than an electric one. In mid-range establishments, pasta dishes go for €5–12, while the main fish or meat courses will normally cost between €7 and €15.
The menu Traditionally, lunch (pranzo) and dinner (cena) start with antipasto (literally “before the meal”), a course consisting of various cold
No smoking Smoking is banned in all enclosed public spaces in Italy. Any restaurant or bar that wants to allow smoking has to follow very stringent rules in isolating a separate room – including doors and special air conditioning. Needless to say this is beyond the pocket of most places and so the majority remain no-smoking throughout. Don’t worry, though, if you do want a puff with your coffee; the pavement outside has become a popular place to light up.
cuts of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes, generally costing €5–12. Some places offer self-service antipasto buffets. The next course, the primo, involves soup, risotto or pasta, and is followed by the secondo – the meat or fish course, usually served alone, except for perhaps a wedge of lemon or tomato. Fish will often be served whole or by weight – 250g is usually plenty for one person – or ask to have a look at the fish before it’s cooked. Note that by law, any ingredients that have been frozen need to be marked (usually with an asterix and “surgelato”) on the menu. Vegetables or salads – contorni – are ordered and served separately, and there often won’t be much choice: potatoes will usually come as fries (patate fritte), but you can also find boiled (lesse) or roast (arrostite) potatoes, while salads are either green (verde) or mixed (mista) and vegetables (verdure) usually come very well boiled. Afterwards, you nearly always get a choice of fresh local fruit (frutta) and a selection of desserts (dolci) – sometimes just ice cream or macedonia (fresh fruit salad), but often home-made items, like apple or pear cake (torta di mela/pera), tiramisù, or zuppa inglese (trifle). Cheeses (formaggi) are always worth a shot if you have any room left; ask to try a selection of local varieties. You will need quite an appetite to tackle all these courses and if your stomach — or wallet — isn’t up to it, it’s perfectly acceptable to have less. If you’re not sure of the size of the portions, start with a pasta or rice dish and ask to order the secondo when you’ve finished the first course. And, although it’s not a very Italian thing to do, don’t feel shy about just having an antipasto
| Food and drink
The importance Italians attach to food and drink makes any holiday in the country a treat for the taste buds. The southern Italian diet especially, with its emphasis on olive oil, fresh and plentiful fruit, vegetables and fish, is one of the healthiest in Europe, and there are few national cuisines that can boast so much variety in both ingredients and cooking methods. Italy’s wines, too, are among the finest and most diverse in Europe. For more on the regional variety in cooking, see the “regional food and drink” boxes at the beginning of each chapter and the “Italian food and wine” colour section.
BASICS
Food and drink
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There’s a detailed menu reader of Italian terms on pp.1042–1045.
BASICS
| Food and drink
and a primo; they’re probably the best way of trying local specialities anyway. At the end of the meal ask for the bill (il conto); bear in mind that almost everywhere you’ll pay a cover charge (coperto) of €1–5 a head. In many trattorias the bill amounts to little more than an illegible scrap of paper; if you want to check it, ask for a receipt (ricevuta). In more expensive places, service (servizio) will often be added on top of the cover charge, generally about 10 percent. If it isn’t included leave what you feel is appropriate for the service you received – up to 10 percent.
Breakfast Most Italians start their day in a bar, their breakfast (prima colazione) consisting of a coffee and a brioche or cornetto – a croissant often filled with jam, custard or chocolate, which you usually help yourself to from the counter and eat standing at the bar. It will cost between €1.30 and €1.60; note that it will cost more if you sit down (see “Where to drink”, p.43). Breakfast in a hotel is all too often a limp affair of watery coffee, bread and processed meats, often not worth the price.
Pizza and snacks
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Pizza is obviously a worldwide phenomenon, but Italy remains the best place to eat it. Here pizza usually comes thin and flat, not deep-pan, and the choice of toppings is fairly limited, with none of the dubious pineapple and sweetcorn variations. For a quality pizza opt for somewhere with a wood-fired oven (forno a legna) rather than a squeaky-clean electric one, so that the pizzas arrive blasted and bubbling on the surface and with a distinctive charcoal taste. This adherence to tradition means that it’s unusual to find a good pizzeria open at lunchtime; it takes hours for a wood-fired oven to heat up to the necessary temperature. Pizzerias range from a stand-up counter selling slices (pizza al taglio) to a fully fledged sit-down restaurant, and on the whole they
don’t sell much else besides pizza, soft drinks and beer. A basic cheese and tomato margherita costs around €6, a fancier variety €6–10, and it’s quite acceptable to cut it into slices and eat it with your fingers. Consult our food glossary (see pp.1042–1045) for the different varieties. For a lunchtime snack sandwiches (panini) can be pretty substantial, a bread stick or roll packed with any number of fillings. A sandwich bar (paninoteca) in larger towns and cities, and in smaller places a grocer’s shop (alimentari), will normally make you up whatever you want. Bars may also offer tramezzini, ready-made sliced white bread with mixed fillings. Other sources of quick snacks are markets, where fresh, flavoursome produce is sold, often including cheese, cold meats, warm spit-roast chicken, and arancini, deepfried balls of rice with meat (rosso) or butter and cheese (bianco) filling. Bread shops (panetteria) often serve slices of pizza or focaccia (bread with oil and salt topped with rosemary, olives or tomato). Supermarkets, also, are an obvious stop for a picnic lunch: larger branches are on the outskirts of cities, while smaller supermarkets can be found in town centres.
Vegetarians and vegans The quality of fruit and vegetables in Italy is excellent, with local, seasonal produce available throughout the country. There are numerous pasta sauces without meat, some superb vegetable antipasti and, if you eat fish and seafood, you should have no problem at all. Salads, too, are fresh and good. Outside the cities and resorts, you might be wise to check if a dish has meat in it (C’è carne dentro?) or ask for it “senza carne e pesce” to make sure it doesn’t contain poultry or prosciutto. Vegans will have a much harder time, though pizzas without cheese (marinara – nothing to do with fish – is a common option) are a good stand-by and vegetable soup (minestrone) is usually just that.
Drinks Although un mezzo (half-litre carafe of house wine) is a standard accompaniment to a meal, there’s not a great emphasis on dedicated
Traditional bars are less social centres than functional places and are all very similar to each other – brightly lit places, with a counter, a Gaggia coffee machine and a picture of the local football team on the wall. This is the place to come for a coffee in the morning, a quick beer or a cup of tea – people don’t generally idle away evenings in bars. Indeed in some more rural areas it’s difficult to find a bar open much after 8pm. It’s cheapest to drink standing at the counter, in which case you pay first at the cash desk (la cassa), present your receipt (scontrino) to the barperson and give your order. There’s always a list of prices (listino prezzi) behind the bar and it’s customary to leave a small coin on the counter as a tip. If there’s waiter service, just sit where you like, though bear in mind that to do this will cost up to twice as much as positioning yourself at the bar, especially if you sit outside (fuori) – the difference is shown on the price list as tavola (table) or terrazzo (any outside seating area). Late-night bars and pubs rarely operate on the scontrino system; you may be asked to pay up front, in the British manner, or be presented with a bill. If not, head for the counter when you leave – the barperson will have kept a surprisingly accurate tally. An osteria can be a more congenial setting, often a traditional place where you can try local specialities with a glass of wine. Real enthusiasts of the grape should head for an enoteca, though many of these are more oriented towards selling wine by the case than by the glass. Cities offer a much greater variety of places to sit and drink in the evening, sometimes with live music or DJs. The more energetic or late-opening of these have taken to calling themselves pubs, a spill-over from the success of Irish pubs, at least one of which you’ll find, packed to the rafters, in almost every city.
Always excellent, coffee can be taken small and black (espresso, or just caffè), which costs around €1 a cup, or white and frothy (cappuccino, for about €1.30), but there are scores of variations. If you want your espresso watered down, ask for a caffè lungo or, for something more like a filter coffee, an Americano; with a drop of milk is caffè macchiato; very milky is caffè latte (ordering just a “latte”, New York café style, will get you a glass of milk). Coffee with a shot of alcohol – and you can ask for just about anything – is caffè corretto. Many places also serve decaffeinated coffee; in summer you might want to have your coffee cold (caffè freddo). If you’re not up for a coffee, there’s always tea. In summer you can drink this cold, too (tè freddo) – excellent for taking the heat off. Hot tea (tè caldo) comes with lemon (con limone) unless you ask for milk (con latte). A small selection of herbal teas (infusioni) are generally available: camomile (camomilla) and peppermint (menta) are the most common.
| Food and drink
Where to drink
Coffee and tea
BASICS
drinking in Italy. Public drunkenness is rare, young people don’t devote their nights to getting wasted, and women especially are frowned on if they’re seen to be overindulging. Nonetheless there’s a wide choice of alcoholic drinks available, often at low prices. Soft drinks, crushed-ice drinks and, of course, mineral water are widely available.
Soft drinks and water There are various soft drinks (analcolichi) to choose from. Slightly fizzy, bitter drinks like San Bittèr or Crodino are common, especially at aperitivo time. A spremuta is a fresh fruit juice, squeezed at the bar, usually orange, lemon or grapefruit. There are also crushed-ice granitas, big in Sicily and offered in several flavours, available with or without whipped cream (panna) on top. Otherwise you’ll find the usual range of fizzy drinks and concentrated juices: the homegrown Italian version of Coke, Chinotto, is less sweet and good with a slice of lemon. Tap water (acqua del rubinetto) is quite drinkable, and you won’t pay for a glass in a bar, though Italians prefer mineral water (acqua minerale) and drink more of it than any other country in Europe. It can be drunk either still (senza gas or naturale) or sparkling (con gas or frizzante), and costs about €1.30 a bottle in a bar.
Beer and spirits 43
Beer (birra) has become fashionable in recent years. It usually comes in one-third or
BASICS
| The media
two-third litre bottles, or on tap (alla spina), measure for measure more expensive than the bottled variety. A small beer is a piccola (20cl or 25cl), a larger one (usually 40cl) a media. The cheapest and most common brands are the Italian Moretti, Peroni and Dreher, all of which are very drinkable; if this is what you want, either state the brand name or ask for birra nazionale or birra chiara – otherwise you could end up with a more expensive imported beer. You may also come across darker beers (birra nera or birra rossa), which have a sweeter, maltier taste and in appearance resemble stout or bitter. All the usual spirits are on sale and known mostly by their generic names. There are also Italian brands of the main varieties: the best Italian brandies are Stock and Vecchia Romagna. A generous shot costs about €1.50, imported stuff much more. You’ll also find fortified wines like Martini, Cinzano and Campari; ask for a Camparisoda and you’ll get a ready-mixed version from a little bottle; a slice of lemon is a spicchio di limone, ice is ghiaccio. You might also try Cynar – believe it or not, an artichoke-based sherry often drunk as an aperitif with water. There’s also a daunting selection of liqueurs. Amaro is a bitter after-dinner drink or digestivo, Amaretto much sweeter with a strong taste of almond, Sambuca a stickysweet aniseed concoction, traditionally served with a coffee bean in it and set on fire
(though, increasingly, this is something put on to impress tourists). A shot of clear grappa is a common accompaniment to a coffee and can range from a warming palate cleanser to throat-burning firewater, while another sweet alternative, originally from Sorrento, is limoncello or limoncino, a lemon-based liqueur best drunk in a frozen vase-shaped glass. Strega is another drink you’ll see behind every bar, yellow, herb-and-saffronbased stuff in tall, elongated bottles: about as sweet as it looks but not unpleasant.
Wine From sparkling prosecco to deep-red chianti, Italy is renowned for its wines. However, it’s rare to find the snobbery often associated with “serious” wine drinking. Light reds such as those made from the dolcetto grape are hauled out of the fridge in hot weather, while some full-bodied whites are drunk at near room temperature. In restaurants you’ll invariably be offered red (rosso) or white (bianco) – rarely rosé (rosato). Don’t be afraid to try the local stuff (ask for vino sfuso, or simply un mezzo – a half-litre – or un quarto – a quarter), sometimes served straight from the barrel, particularly down south. It’s often very good, and inexpensive at an average of around €5 a litre. Bottled wine is pricier but still very good value; expect to pay €9–20 a bottle in a mid-priced restaurant, and less than half that from a shop or supermarket. In bars you can buy a decent glass of wine for about €1–2.
The media Italy’s decentralized press serves to emphasize the strength of regionalism in the country. Local TV is popular, too, in the light of little competition from the national channels. If you know where to look, journalistic standards can be high but you might find yourself turning to foreign TV channels or papers if you want an international outlook on events.
Newspapers 44
The Italian press is largely regionally based, with just a few newspapers available across
the country. The centre-left La Repubblica (Wwww.repubblica.it) and authoritative rightslanted Corriere della Sera (Wwww.corriere .it) are the two most widely read, published
and Rome you can sometimes find papers on the day of publication. In remoter parts of the country it’s not unusual for papers to be delayed by several days.
TV and radio
| Festivals
Italian TV is appalling, with mindless quiz shows, variety programmes and chat shows squeezed in between countless advertisements. There are three state-owned channels – Rai 1, 2 and 3 – along with the channels of Berlusconi’s Mediaset empire – Italia 1, Rete 4, Canale 5 – and a seventh channel, Canale 7. Satellite television is fairly widely distributed, and three-star hotels and above usually offer a mix of BBC World, CNN and French-, German- and Spanishlanguage news channels, as well as MTV and Eurosport. The situation in radio is if anything even more anarchic, with the FM waves crowded to the extent that you continually pick up new stations whether you want to or not —Catholic Radio Maria pops up with an uncanny frequency. This means there are generally some good stations if you search hard enough, but on the whole the RAI stations are again the more professional – though even with them daytime listening is virtually undiluted Euro-pop.
BASICS
nationwide with local supplements, but originating in Milan. Provincial newspapers include La Stampa (W www.lastampa.it), the daily of Turin, and Il Messaggero (Wwww .ilmessaggero.it) of Rome – both rather stuffy, establishment sheets. Il Mattino (W www.ilmattino.it) is the more readable publication of Naples and the Campania area, while other southern editions include the Giornale di Sicilia and La Gazzetta del Sud. Many of the imprints you see on newsstands are the official mouthpieces for political parties: L’Unità (Wwww.unita.it) is the party organ of the former Communist Party, while La Padania is the press of the right-wing, regionalist Lega Nord party. The traditionally radical Il Manifesto has always been regarded as one of the most serious and influential sources of Italian journalism. Perhaps the most avidly read newspapers of all, however, are the specialist sports papers, most notably the Corriere dello Sport (W www.corrieredellosport.it) and the pink Gazzetta dello Sport (Wwww.gazzetta .it) – both essential reading if you want an insight into the Italian football scene. English-language newspapers can be found for around three times their home cover price in all the larger cities and most resorts, usually a day late, though in Milan
Festivals Whether for religious, traditional or cultural reasons, Italy has no shortage of festivals throughout the year, and at Christmas, Easter or during the summer months you are likely to come across at least one local festival celebrating an historic event, a patron saint’s day, a town’s local produce or some artistic talent. Recently there’s also been a revival of the carnival (carnevale), the last fling before Lent, although the anarchic fun that was enjoyed in the past has generally been replaced by elegant, self-conscious affairs, with ingenious costumes and handmade masks. The main places to head for are Venice, Viareggio in Tuscany and Acireale in Sicily, although smaller towns also often put on a parade.
Perhaps the most widespread local event in Italy is the religious procession, which can be a very dramatic affair. Good Friday is celebrated in many towns and villages – particularly in the south – by parading models of Christ through the streets accompanied by white-robed, hooded figures singing penitential hymns. Many processions have strong pagan roots, marking important
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| Festivals 46
dates on the calendar and only relatively recently sanctified by the Church. Superstition and a desire for good luck are very much part of these events. Despite the dwindling number of practising Catholics in Italy, there has been a revival of pilgrimages over the last couple of decades. These are as much social occasions as spiritual journeys with, for example, as many as a million pilgrims travelling through the night, mostly on foot, to the Shrine of the Madonna di Polsi in the inhospitable Aspromonte mountains in Calabria. Sardinia’s biggest festival, the Festa di Sant’Efisio, sees a four-day march from Cágliari to Pula and back, to commemorate the saint’s martyrdom. There are many festivals that evoke local pride in tradition. Medieval contests like the Palio horse race in Siena perpetuate allegiances to certain competing clans, while other towns put on crossbow, jousting and flag-twirling contests, with marching bands in full costume accompanying the event with enthusiastic drumming. Far from staged affairs, these festivals are highly significant to those involved, with fierce rivalry between participants. Food-inspired feste are lower-key, but no less enjoyable affairs, usually celebrating the local speciality of the region to the accompaniment of dancing, music from a local brass band and noisy fireworks at the end of the evening. There are literally hundreds of food festivals, sometimes advertised as sagre, and every region has them – look in the local papers or ask at the tourist office during summer and autumn and you’re bound to find something going on. Most are modest affairs, primarily aimed at locals and little publicized, but there are a few exceptions. The home-town pride that sparks off many of the food festivals also expresses itself in some of the arts festivals spread across Italy, particularly in the central part of the country – based in ancient amphitheatres or within medieval walls and occasionally marking the work of a native composer. Major concerts and opera are usually well advertised but also extremely popular, so you should book tickets well in advance. One other type of festival to keep an eye out for is the summer political shindigs, like
the Festa de l’Unità, advertised by posters all over the country. Begun initially to recruit members to the different political parties, they have become something akin to a village fete but with a healthy Italian twist. Taking place mainly in the evenings, the food tents are a great way to try tasty local dishes for a couple of euros, washed down by a cup of wine. There’s usually bingo going on in one corner, the sort of dancing that will make teenagers crimson with embarrassment and the odd coconut shy or the like. In larger towns these have become more sophisticated affairs with big-name national bands playing.
A festival calendar There are literally thousands of festivals in Italy and sometimes the best ones are those that you come across unexpectedly in the smaller towns. Some of the highlights are listed below – we’ve detailed more throughout the Guide. Note that dates change from year to year, so it’s best to contact the local tourist office for specific details.
January Naples San Silvestro (New Year’s Eve). New Year is welcomed in by bangers and fireworks on the streets and by throwing old furniture out of windows. Milan Epifania (Jan 6). Costumed parade of the Three Kings from the Duomo to Sant’Eustorgio, the resting place of the bones of the Magi. Rome Epifania (Jan 6). Toy and sweet fair in Piazza Navona, to celebrate the Befana, the good witch who brings toys and sweets to children who’ve been good, and coal to those who haven’t.
February Sicily Festa di Sant’Agata (Feb 3–5). Riotous religious procession in Catania. Carnevale (weekend before Lent). Carnival festivities in Venice (Wwww.venicecarnival.com), Viareggio (W www.ilcarnevale.com), Foiano della Chiana (Arezzo), Cento (Ferrara), plus many towns throughout Italy. Ivrea Battle of the Oranges. Carnival Sun–Shrove Tues. A messy couple of days when processions through the streets are an excuse to pelt each other with orange pulp. Wwww.carnevalediivrea.it. Agrigento Almond Blossom Festival (last two weeks of Feb). Colourful celebration of spring with folk music from around the world.
March
Nocera Tirinese Rito dei Battienti (Easter Sat). Macabre parade of flagellants whipping themselves with shards of glass. Florence Lo Scoppio del Carro (Easter Day). A symbolic firework display outside the Duomo after Mass.
May Cocullo (L’Aquila) Festival of snakes (first week of May). One of the most ancient Italian festivals celebrating the patron saint, San Domenico Abate, in which his statue is draped with live snakes and paraded through the streets. Gubbio Corsa dei Ceri (first Sun). Three 20ft-high wooden figures, representing three patron saints, are raced through the old town by ceraioli in medieval costume. Camogli Fish festival of San Fortunato (second Sun). The patron saint of fishermen is celebrated with plenty of fried fish, fireworks and bonfires. Countrywide International Museum Day (mid-May). Museums throughout the country put on events and stay open all night to celebrate the international initiative. Countrywide International Wine Day (last Sun). Wine estates all over Italy open their cellars to the public. Siracusa Greek Drama festival (mid-May to mid-June). Classic plays performed by international companies in the spectacular ruins of the ancient Greek theatre. Alba Truffle Festival (April 24–May 2). Month-long opportunity to sample local delicacies as well as parades and a donkey palio.
| Festivals
April
Siena Palio (July 2). Medieval bareback horse race in the Campo. Matera Festa della Madonna della Bruna (July 2). A statue of the town’s patron saint is paraded on a float and then burned. Palermo Festino di Santa Rosalia (second week). A five-day street party to celebrate the city’s patron saint. Perugia Umbria Jazz Festival (second week). Wwww.umbriajazz.com. Bologna Porretta Soul Festival (third week). Wwww.porrettasoul.it. Santarcangelo di Romagna Festival Internazionale del Teatro in Piazza (mid-July). Contemporary performance in public spaces, just outside Rimini. W www.santarcangelofestival.com.
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Venice Su e zo per i ponti (fourth Sun of Lent). A non-competitive 13km orienteering event/pub crawl around town, “up and down the bridges”. Milan Salone Internazionale del Mobile (third week). The city becomes a showcase for the best of the world’s furniture and industrial design.
July
August Countrywide Ferragosto (Aug 15). National holiday with local festivals, water fights and fireworks all over Italy. Siena (Aug 16). Second Palio horse race. Pésaro Rossini Opera Festival (mid-month). W www.rossinioperafestival.it. Ferrara Ferrara Buskers Festival (end Aug). Gathering of some of the world’s best street performers. Wwww.ferrarabuskers.com. Venice (end Aug). Start of the oldest International Film Festival in the world (Wwww.labiennale.org).
September Venice La Regata di Venezia (first Sun). Gondola race in medieval costume along the Grand Canal. Verona (Sept 12). Street entertainment and general partying to celebrate the birthday of the town’s most famous lover, Juliet. Naples Festa di San Gennaro (Sept 15). Festival for the city’s patron saint with crowds gathering in the cathedral to witness the liquefaction of San Gennaro’s blood. San Giovanni Rotondo, Fóggia (Sept 23). Thousands of followers commemorate the death of Padre Pio.
October June Florence Calcio Storico Fiorentino (June 24). Medieval-style football match and other festivities to celebrate San Giovanni, the city’s patron saint. Verona Verona opera season (from late June). W www.arena.it. Positano (from late June). Amalfi Coast opera and chamber music festival.
Marino, Rome Sagra del Vino (first weekend). One of the most famous among hundreds of wine festivals across the country, with fountains literally flowing with wine. Trieste La Barcolana (second Sun). Boat race. Wwww.barcolana.it. Perugia Eurochocolate (third and fourth weekend). Italy’s chocolate city celebrates.
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Acqualagna, Pésaro Festa del Tartufo Bianco (last Sun). Beginning of a month-long white truffle festival.
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November Countrywide Olive oil festivals all over Italy.
| Sports and outdoor pursuits
December Stiffe, L’Aquila Bethlehem in the Grotto (first week). Life-size statues from the nativity scene are carried into a 650-metre-deep grotto and
positioned for the month among stalagmites and a natural waterfall. Suvereto, Livorno Festa del Cinghiale (Dec 1–10). A ten-day festival in honour of the wild boar. Milan Oh Bej, Oh Bej! (Dec 7). The city’s patron saint, Sant’Ambrogio, is celebrated with a huge street market around his church and a day off work and school for all. Santa Lucia (Dec 13). Milan opera season starts with an all-star opening night at La Scala. Orvieto Umbria Jazz Winter (end of month). W www.umbriajazz.com.
Sports and outdoor pursuits Spectator sports are popular in Italy, especially the hallowed calcio (football), and there is undying national passion for frenetic motor and cycle races. When it comes to participation, though, there isn’t the same compulsion to hit the hell out of a squash ball or sweat your way through an aerobics class after work as there is, say, in Britain or the States. Alternatively, the country’s natural advantages provide possibly the best scope for keeping trim in the most enjoyable ways possible. For visitors to Italy, the most accessible activities are centred on the mountains – where you can climb, ski, paraglide, raft, canoe or simply explore on foot or cycle – and the lake and coastal regions, with plenty of opportunities for swimming, sailing and windsurfing; Campania, Calabria and Sicily are particularly popular for scuba diving and snorkelling.
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Football – or calcio – is the national sport, followed fanatically by millions of Italians, and if you’re at all interested in the game it would be a shame to leave the country without attending a partita or football match. The season starts around the middle of August, and finishes in June. Il campionato (the championship) is split into four principal divisions, with the twenty teams in the Serie A being the most prestigious. Matches are normally played on Sunday afternoons, although Saturday, Sunday-evening and Monday games are becoming more common. See Wwww.lega-calcio.it for results, a
calendar of events and English links to the official team websites. Inevitably, tickets for Serie A matches are not cheap, starting at about €20 for “Curva” seats where the tifosi or hard-core fans go, rising to anything between €40 and €60 for “Tribuna” seats along the side of the pitch, and anything up to €100 for the more comfortable “Poltroncina”, cushioned seats in the centre of the Tribuna. Once at the football match, get into the atmosphere of the occasion by knocking back borghetti – little vials of cold coffee with a drop of spirit added. Italy’s chosen sport after football is basketball, introduced from the United States after World War II. Most cities have a team, and Italy is now ranked among the foremost in the world. The teams vying for the top spot are Montepaschi Siena, Lottomatica Virtus Roma, NGC Cantu, Armani Jeans Milan and CS Bologna. For more details on fixtures and the leagues, see Wwww.eurobasket.com/italy/basketball.asp. In a country that has produced Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, it should come as no surprise that motor racing
With the Alps right on the doorstep, it’s easy to spend a weekend skiing or snowboarding from Milan, Turin or Venice. Some of the most popular ski resorts are Sestriere and Bardonecchia in Piemonte, Cervinia and Courmayeur in Valle d’Aosta, the Val Gardena and Val di Fassa in the stunning Dolomite mountains of Trentino-Alto Adige and the Veneto – home to one of Italy’s bestknown and most exclusive resorts, Cortina d’Ampezzo. Further south you can ski at the small resorts of Abetone and Amiata in Tuscany, Monte Vettore in Le Marche, Gran Sasso and Maiella in Abruzzo and on Mount Etna in Sicily. Contact the regional tourist offices for information about accommodation, ski schools and prices of lift passes. All of these mountain resorts are equally ideal as bases for summer hiking and
| Shopping
Outdoor pursuits
climbing, and most areas have detailed maps with itineraries and marked paths. For less strenuous treks, the rolling hills of Tuscany and Umbria make perfect walking and mountain-bike country and numerous tour operators offer independent or escorted tours throughout the region. Many tourist offices also publish booklets suggesting itineraries. If the heat of the summer lures you towards the extensive Italian coast you can expect to find all the usual seaside resort activity and plenty of opportunities for sailing and windsurfing. Scuba diving is popular in Sicily and off most of the smaller islands – you can either join a diving school or rent equipment from one if you’re an experienced diver. You can get a guide and map suggesting sailing itineraries round the coast of southern Italy from the Italian State Tourist Office (see p.57). Watersports aren’t just restricted to the coast and can be found in places such as lakes Como and Garda in the north and Trasimeno and Bolsena further south towards Rome. River canoeing, canyoning and rafting are popular in the mountain areas of the north of the country. Horseriding is becoming increasingly popular in rural areas and most tourist offices have lists of local stables (maneggio). Many agriturismi (see p.37) also have riding facilities and sometimes offer daily or weekly treks and night rides. Note that Italians rarely wear or provide riding hats.
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gives Italians such a buzz. There are grand prix tracks at Monza near Milan (home of the Italian Grand Prix) and at Ímola, where the San Marino Grand Prix is held. The other sport popular with participants and crowds of spectators alike is cycling. At weekends especially, you’ll often see a club group out, dressed in bright team kit, whirring along on their slender machines. The annual Giro d’Italia (W www.ilgiroditalia .it) in the second half of May is a prestigious event that attracts scores of international participants each year, closing down roads and creating great excitement.
Shopping There is no shortage of temptation for shoppers and souvenir-hunters in Italy. Visitors can take advantage of Italy’s traditional expertise in textiles, ceramics and leather and glassware in all price ranges; top-end Gucci garments, Murano glass or calfskin footwear are often on sale just round the corner from somewhere offering rustic ceramics or gastronomic farm products. Much of Italy’s manufacturing industry consists of small family-run companies. This has led to factory outlets opening across the
country, particularly for clothes and other textiles but also for pottery and glass; local tourist offices will be able to point you in the
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Clothing and shoe sizes Women’s clothing
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American British Continental
4 6 34
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6 8 36
8 10 38
10 12 40
12 14 42
14 16 44
16 18 46
18 20 48
5 3 36
6 4 37
7 5 38
8 6 39
9 7 40
10 8 41
11 9 42
14 14 36
15 15 38
15.5 15.5 39
16 16 41
16.5 16.5 42
17 17 43
17.5 17.5 44
18 18 45
7 6 39
7.5 7 40
8 7.5 41
8.5 8 42
9.5 9 43
10 9.5 44
10.5 10 44
11 11 45
34 34 44
36 36 46
38 38 48
40 40 50
42 42 52
44 44 54
46 46 56
48 48 58
Women’s shoes American British Continental
Men’s shirts American British Continental
Men’s shoes American British Continental
11.5 12 46
Men’s suits American British Continental
right direction. Rural areas will usually have good basketware, local terracotta or ceramic items as well a veritable banquet of locally produced wine, olive oils, cheeses, hams and salamis. It’s always worth rooting out the local speciality, even in urban centres: Turin is well known for its chocolate, Milan famous for designer clothes and furniture, Venice for glassware and lace, Florence for leather goods, Sicily and Perugia for ceramics. Every large village and town has at least one weekly market (detailed in the Guide), and though these are usually geared towards household goods, they can be useful for picking up cheap clothing, basketware, ceramics and picnic ingredients. Prices are mainly in line with most of Western Europe and are always a little higher
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in the north of the country and urban areas. Credit/debit cards are not widely used although most supermarkets and stores with pricey merchandise will accept them. Haggling is also uncommon in most of Italy but in more rural markets you might like to try your luck; ask for uno sconto (a discount) and see where it gets you. Bargaining is not practised when buying food, however, or in shops. If you’re resident outside the EU you are entitled to a rebate for the VAT (or IVA) paid on items over €155. You need to ask for a special receipt at the time of purchase and allow your goods to be checked at the airport and the receipt stamped when you leave the country. For more information, see Wwww.globalrefund.com.
Red tape The main bureaucratic requirements to stay legally in Italy are a Permesso di Soggiorno and a codice fiscale, respectively a piece of paper proving your right to be in the country and a tax number. Available from the questura (police station), a Permesso di Soggiorno requires you to produce a letter from your employer or place of study, or prove you have funds to maintain yourself. In reality, EU citizens can simply apply on the grounds of looking for work (attesa di lavoro), for which you’ll need a passport and a photocopy, four passport photos, and a lot of patience. A codice fiscale is essential for most things in Italy including buying a transport season pass, a SIM card, opening a bank account or renting a flat. It can be obtained from the local Ufficio delle Entrate although you can start the process online at Wwww.agenziaentrate.gov.it.
Work options One obvious work option is to teach English, for which the demand has expanded enormously in recent years. You can do this in two ways: freelance private lessons, or through a language school. For the less reputable places, you can get away without any qualifications, but you’ll need to show a TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) certificate for the more professional – and better paid – establishments. For the main language schools, it’s best to apply in writing before you leave (look for the ads in British newspapers The Guardian and The Times Education Supplement), preferably before the summer. If you’re looking on the spot, sift through the local English-language press and phone books and do the rounds on foot, but don’t bother to try in August when everything is closed. The best teaching jobs of all are with a university as a lettore, a job requiring
fewer hours than the language schools and generally providing a fuller pay-packet. Universities require English-language teachers in most faculties, and you can write to the individual faculties. Strictly speaking you could get by without any knowledge of Italian while teaching, though it obviously helps, especially when setting up private classes. If teaching’s not up your street, there’s the possibility of holiday rep work in the summer, especially around the seaside resorts. These are good places for finding bar or restaurant work, too – not the most lucrative of jobs, though you should make enough to keep you over the summer. You’ll have to ask around for both types of work, and some knowledge of Italian is essential. Au pairing is another option: again sift through the ads in locally produced Englishlanguage publications in the big cities or The Lady magazine to find openings.
| Work and study in Italy
All EU citizens are eligible to work and study in Italy. Work permits are pretty impossible for non-EU citizens to obtain: you must have the firm promise of a job that no Italian could do before you can even apply to the Italian embassy in your home country.
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Work and study in Italy
Study programmes One way of spending time in Italy is to combine a visit with learning the language, enrolling in one of the many summer courses on Italian art and culture or joining an international work programme. There are many opportunities for studying Italian, either as part of an overseas study scheme or by applying directly to a language school when you arrive. AFS Intercultural Programs 506 SW 6th Ave, 2nd Floor, Portland, Oregon 97204, US T1-800/ AFS-INFO or 212/299 9000, Wwww.afs.org/usa. Runs two-semester student exchange programmes. American Institute for Foreign Study River Plaza, 9 W Broad St, Stamford, CT 06902-3788, US T1-800/727-2437, Wwww.aifs.com. Language study and cultural immersion for the summer or school year. Australians Studying Abroad PO Box 8285, Armadale, 3143 Victoria, Australia T1800/645 755 or 03/9822 6899, W www.asatravinfo.com.au. Study tours focusing on art and culture.
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| Travel essentials
British Council UK T 0161/957 7755, W www .britishcouncil.org. Produces a free leaflet detailing study opportunities abroad. The Council’s Central Management Direct Teaching (T 020/7389 4931) recruits TEFL teachers for posts worldwide. Earthwatch Institute 267 Banbury Rd, Oxford OX2 7HT, UK T01865/318 838, Wwww.earthwatch .org. Exchange programme organizing research trips, which sometimes include Italy. Erasmus Whttp://ec.europa.eu/education. Europewide university-level initiative enabling students to study abroad for one year. International House 106 Piccadilly, London W1V 9NL, UK T 020/7611 2400, W www.ihlondon.com. Head office for reputable English-teaching
organization which offers TEFL training and recruits for teaching positions in Italy. Italian Cultural Institute 39 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8NX, UK T020/7235 1461, Wwww .italcultur.org.uk. The official Italian government agency for the promotion of cultural exchanges between Britain and Italy. A number of scholarships are available to British students wishing to study at Italian universities. Road Scholar 11 Avenue de Lafayette, Boston, MA 02111, US T1/800-454-5768, Wwww.road scholar.org. Runs activity programmes for over-60s, generally lasting a week or more, and costs are in line with those of commercial tours.
Travel essentials
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Costs
Crime and personal safety
In general you’ll find the south much less expensive than the north. As a broad guide, expect to pay most in Venice, Milan, Florence and Bologna, less in Rome, while in Naples and Sicily prices come down quite a lot. As an indication you should be able to survive on a budget of about €50–60 per day if you stay in a hostel, have lunchtime snacks and a cheap evening meal. If you stay in a mid-range hotel and eat out twice a day, you’ll spend closer to €130–140 per day. Some basics are reasonably inexpensive, such as transport and, most notably, food, although drinking can be pricey unless you stick to wine. Room rates are in line with much of the rest of Europe, at least in the major cities and resorts. Bear in mind, too, that the time of year can make a big difference. During the height of summer, in July and August when the Italians take their holidays, hotel prices can escalate; outside the season, however, you can often negotiate much lower rates. There are a few reductions and discounts for ISIC members, under-18s and over-65s, but only in the major cities and for entry into state museums and sites.
Despite what you hear about the Mafia, most of the crime you’ll come across as a visitor to Italy is of the small-time variety, prevalent in the major cities and the south of the country, where pickpockets and gangs of scippatori or “snatchers” operate. Crowded streets or markets and packed tourist sights are the places to be wary of; scippatori work on foot or on scooters, disappearing before you’ve had time to react. As well as handbags, they whip wallets, tear off visible jewellery and, if they’re really adroit, unstrap
Emergencies For help in an emergency, call one of the following national emergency telephone numbers: T112 for the police (Carabinieri). T113 for any emergency service, including ambulance (Soccorso Pubblico di Emergenza). T115 for the fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco). T116 for road assistance (Soccorso Stradale). T118 for an ambulance (Ambulanza).
The supply is 220V, though anything requiring 240V will work. Plugs either have two or three round pins: a multi-plug adapter is very useful.
Entry requirements British, Irish and other EU citizens can enter Italy and stay as long as they like on production of a valid passport. Citizens of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need only a valid passport, too, but are limited to stays of three months. All other nationals should consult the relevant embassy about visa requirements. Legally, you’re required to register with the police within three days of entering Italy, though if you’re staying at a hotel this will be done for you. Although the police in some towns have become more punctilious about this, most would still be amazed at any attempt to register yourself down at the local police
Gay and lesbian Italy Homosexuality is legal in Italy, and the age of consent is 16. Attitudes are most tolerant in the northern cities: Bologna is generally regarded as the gay capital, and Milan, Turin and Rome all have well-developed gay scenes; there are also a few spiagge gay (gay beaches) dotted along the coast: the more popular gay resorts include Taormina and Rimini. Away from the big cities and resorts, though, activity is more covert. You’ll notice, in the south especially, that overt displays of affection between (all) men – linking arms during the passeggiata, kissing in greeting and so on – are common. The line determining what’s acceptable, however, is finely drawn. The national gay organization, ARCI-Gay (T051.649.3055, Wwww.arcigay .it) is based in Bologna but has branches in most big towns. The Wwww.gay.it website has a wealth of information for gays and lesbians in Italy.
| Travel essentials
Electricity
station while on holiday. However, if you’re going to be living here for a while, you’d be advised to do it.
BASICS
watches. You can minimize the risk of this happening by being discreet: don’t flash anything of value, keep a firm hand on your camera, and carry shoulderbags slung across your body. Never leave anything valuable in your car, and try to park in car parks on well-lit, well-used streets. On the whole it’s a good idea to avoid badly lit areas completely at night and deserted inner-city areas by day. Carabinieri, with their military-style uniforms and white shoulder-belts, deal with general crime, public order and drug control, while the Vigili Urbani are mainly concerned with directing traffic and issuing parking fines; the Polizia Stradale patrol the motorways. The Carabinieri tend to come from southern Italy – joining the police is one way to escape the poverty trap – and they are posted away from home so as to be well out of the sphere of influence of their families. The Polizia Statale, the other general crime-fighting force, enjoy a fierce rivalry with the Carabinieri and are the ones you’ll perhaps have most chance of coming into contact with, since thefts should be reported to them. You’ll find the address of the questura or police station in the local telephone directory (in smaller places it may be just a local commissariato).
Health As a member of the European Union, Italy has free reciprocal health agreements with other member states. EU citizens are entitled to free treatment within Italy’s public healthcare system on production of a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which British citizens can obtain by picking up a form at the post office, calling T0845/606 2030, or applying online at Wwww.dh.gov .uk. The Australian Medicare system also has a reciprocal healthcare arrangement with Italy. Vaccinations are not required, and Italy doesn’t present any more health worries than anywhere else in Europe; the worst that’s likely to happen to you is suffering from the extreme heat in summer or from an upset stomach. The water is perfectly safe to drink and you’ll find public fountains in squares and city streets everywhere, though look out for acqua non potabile signs, indicating that the water is unsafe to drink. It’s worth taking insect repellent, as even inland towns, most notoriously Milan, suffer from a persistent mosquito problem, especially in summer.
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| Travel essentials
An Italian pharmacist (farmacia) is well qualified to give you advice on minor ailments and to dispense prescriptions; pharmacies are generally open all night in the bigger towns and cities. A rota system operates, and you should find the address of the one currently open on any farmacia door or listed in the local paper. If you need to see a doctor (medico), take your EHIC with you to enable you to get free treatment and prescriptions for medicines at the local rate – about ten percent of the price of the medicine. In an emergency, go straight to the Pronto Soccorso (casualty) of the nearest hospital (ospedale), or phone T 113 and ask for an ambulanza. Throughout the Guide, you’ll find listings for pharmacies, hospitals and emergency services in all the major cities. Major train stations and airports also often have first-aid stations with qualified doctors on hand. Incidentally, try to avoid going to the dentist (dentista) while you’re in Italy. These aren’t covered by your EHIC or the health service, and for the smallest problem you’ll pay through the teeth. Take local advice, or consult the local Yellow Pages. If you don’t have a spare pair of glasses, it’s worth taking a copy of your prescription so that an optician (ottico) can make you up a new pair should you lose or damage them.
Insurance Even though EU healthcare privileges apply in Italy, you’d do well to take out an insurance policy before travelling to cover against theft, loss, illness or injury. A typical policy usually provides cover for the loss of baggage, tickets and – up to a certain limit – cash or
cheques, as well as cancellation or curtailment of your journey. Most policies exclude so-called dangerous sports unless an extra premium is paid; in Italy this can mean scuba diving, windsurfing and trekking. Many policies can be chopped and changed to exclude coverage you don’t need – for example, sickness and accident benefits can often be excluded or included at will. If you do take medical coverage, ascertain whether benefits will be paid as treatment proceeds or only after your return home, and whether there is a 24-hour medical emergency number. When securing baggage cover, make sure that the per-article limit – typically under £500 – will cover your most valuable possession. If you need to make a claim, you should keep receipts for medicines and medical treatment, and in the event you have anything stolen, you must obtain an official statement from the police (polizia or carabinieri).
Internet Internet access is pretty standard in hostels and mid-range and luxury hotels. According to Italian law, all 3-star hotels and above are now required to offer wi-fi, though not necessarily for free. In towns there will always be several internet cafés where you go online for around €2.50 for half an hour; the area around the station is always a good place to start looking. In smaller places, try the local library. To go online you will need to show your passport to comply with Italian privacy laws.
Laundries Coin-operated laundromats, sometimes known as tintorie, are rare outside large cities, and even there, numbers are sparse;
Rough Guides travel insurance
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Visiting churches and religious sites
Mail Post office opening hours are usually Monday to Saturday 8.30am to 7.30pm, though branches in smaller towns tend to close at 1pm. Note too that offices close an hour earlier on the last working day of the month. Stamps (francobolli) are sold in tabacchi, too, as well as in some gift shops in the tourist resorts; they will often also weigh your letter. The Italian postal system is one of the slowest in Europe so if your letter is urgent make sure you send it “posta prioritaria”, which has varying rates according to weight and destination. Letters can be sent poste restante to any Italian post office by addressing them “Fermo Posta” followed by the name of the town. When picking something up take your passport, and make sure they check under middle names and initials – and every other letter when all else fails – as filing is often diabolical.
Maps The town plans throughout the Guide should be fine for most purposes, and practically all tourist offices give out maps of their local area for free. The clearest and best-value large-scale commercial road map of Italy is the Rough Guide 1:900,000 map, which covers the whole country including Sicily and Sardinia. There are also the 1:800,000 and 1:400,000 maps produced by the Touring Club Italiano, covering north, south and central Italy, and TCI also produces excellent 1:200,000 maps of the individual regions,
which are indispensable if you are touring a specific area in depth. For hiking you’ll need at least a scale of 1:50,000. Studio FMB and the TCI cover the major mountain areas of northern Italy to this scale, but for more detailed, down-to-scale 1:25,000 maps, both the Istituto Geografico Centrale and Kompass series cover central and northwest Italy and the Alps. The Apennines and Tuscany are covered by Multigraphic (Firenze), easiest bought in Italy, while Tabacco produces a good series detailing the Dolomites and the northeast of the country. In Italy, the Club Alpino Italiano (Wwww.cai.it) is a good source of hiking maps; we’ve supplied details of branches throughout the Guide.
| Travel essentials
see the “Listings” sections of the main city accounts for addresses. More common is a lavanderia, a service-wash laundry, but this will be more expensive. Although you can usually get away with it, beware of washing clothes in your hotel room – the plumbing often can’t cope with all the water. It’s better to ask if there’s somewhere you can wash your clothes.
BASICS
The rules for visiting churches, cathedrals and religious buildings are much the same as they are all over the Mediterranean and are strictly enforced everywhere: dress modestly, which means no shorts (not even Bermuda-length ones) and covered shoulders for women, and try to avoid wandering around during a service.
Money Italy’s currency is the euro (€; note that Italians pronounce it “eh-uro”), which is split into 100 cents (centesimi). You can check the current exchange rate at Wwww.xe.com. In Italy, you’ll get the best rate of exchange (cambio) at a bank. Banking hours are normally Monday to Friday mornings from 8.30am until 1.30pm, and for an hour in the afternoon (usually 2.30–4pm). There are local variations on this and banks are usually open only in the morning on the day before a public holiday. Outside banking hours, the larger hotels will change money or travellers’ cheques, although if you’re staying in a reasonably large city the rate is invariably better at the train station exchange bureaux – normally open evenings and weekends. ATMs are common: most towns and even villages have at least one, although, as in most countries, you won’t be able to withdraw more than €250 per day. Check with your bank before you leave home to make sure your card is authorized for transactions abroad and it’s a good idea to let them know the dates you’ll be away so that anti-fraud blocks can be lifted.
55
BASICS
| Travel essentials
Opening hours and public holidays
Closed Mondays
Most shops and businesses open Monday to Saturday from around 8am until 1pm, and from about 4pm until 7pm, though many close on Saturday afternoons and Monday mornings, and in the south the day can begin and end an hour later. In the north some businesses work a 9-to-5 day to facilitate international dealings. Traditionally, everything except bars and restaurants closes on Sunday, though most towns have a pasticceria open in the mornings, while in large cities and tourist areas, Sunday shopping is becoming more common. Most churches open in the early morning, around 7 or 8am for Mass, and close around noon, opening up again at 4pm and closing at 7 or 8pm. In more remote places, some will only open for early morning and evening services, while others are closed at all times except Sundays and on religious holidays; if you’re determined to take a look, you may have to ask around for the key. Another problem is that lots of churches, monasteries, convents and oratories are closed for restoration (chiuso per restauro), though you might be able to persuade someone to show you around even if there’s scaffolding everywhere. Opening hours for state-run museums, and most private ones, are generally Tuesday to Saturday from 9am until any time from 2pm until 7pm, and Sunday from 9am until 1pm. Many large museums also run late-night openings in summer (till 10pm or later Tues–Sat, or 8pm Sun). The opening times of archeological sites are
Most museums, galleries and archeological sites throughout the country are closed on Mondays.
more flexible: most sites open every day, often including Sunday, from 9am until late evening – frequently specified as one hour before sunset, and thus changing according to the time of year. In winter, times are drastically cut, principally because of the darker evenings; 4pm is a common closing time. For post office opening hours, see “Mail”; for banking hours, see “Money; for tourist office hours see “Tourist information”.
Public holidays Whereas it can be fun to stumble across a local festival, it’s best to know when the national holidays are as almost everything will shut down. In August, particularly during the weeks either side of Ferragosto (Aug 15), when most of the country flees to the coast and mountains, many towns are left half-deserted, with shops, bars and restaurants closed and a reduced public transport service. Local religious holidays don’t necessarily close down shops and businesses, but they do mean that accommodation space may be tight. The country’s official national holidays, on the other hand, close everything down except bars and restaurants. A recent initiative has been to open national museums and monuments on public holidays to encourage Italians to make the most of their national heritage, although
Public holidays
56
January 1 January 6 Pasquetta April 25 May 1 June 2 August 15 November 1 December 8 December 25 December 26
Primo dell’anno, New Year’s Day. Epifania, Epiphany. Easter Monday. Giorno della Liberazione, Liberation Day. Festa dei Lavoratori, Labour Day. Festa della Repubblica, Republic Day. Ferragosto, Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ognissanti, All Souls Day. Immacolata, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Natale, Christmas. Santo Stefano, St Stephen’s Day.
it’s still best to check beforehand if you are planning a trip around one particular sight.
Time Italy is always one hour ahead of Britain, seven hours ahead of US Eastern Standard Time and ten hours ahead of Pacific Time.
Tourist information Before you leave home, it may be worth contacting the Italian State Tourist Office (ENIT, Wwww.enit.it) for a selection of maps and brochures, though you can usually pick up much the same information from tourist offices in Italy. Most towns, major train stations and airports in Italy have a tourist office, “APT” (Azienda Promozione Turistica) or “IAT” (Ufficio Informazioni Accoglienza Turistica), all of which vary in usefulness (and helpfulness) but usually provide at least a town plan and local listings guide. In smaller villages there is sometimes a “Pro Loco” office that has much the same kind of information, but with more limited opening times, and the staff are less likely to speak English. Opening hours vary: larger city and resort offices are likely to be open Monday to Saturday 9am to 1pm and 4 to 7pm (sometimes without the lunchbreak in peak season), and sometimes for a short period on Sunday mornings. Smaller offices may open weekdays only, while Pro Loco times are notoriously erratic – some open for only a couple of hours a day, even in summer.
| Travel essentials
Mobile (cell) phones in Italy work on the GSM European standard, usually compatible with phones from the UK, the rest of Europe, Australia and New Zealand, but not the US and Canada, which use a different system. Make sure you have made the necessary “roaming” arrangements with your provider before you leave home and note that you’re likely to be charged for incoming calls in Italy and you may need a new international access code to retrieve your messages. If you’re going to be in the country for any length of time, it might be worth getting an Italian SIM card. You can do this before you leave home (sites like W www.0044.co.uk and www.telestial.com/sim_cards.php are popular) or in Italy, but you’ll need to present your passport on purchase and, depending on the provider, register the details over the phone. Public telephones, run by Telecom Italia, come in various forms, usually with clear instructions in English. Coin-operated machines are increasingly hard to find in some areas of the country so you will probably have to buy a telephone card (carta or scheda telefonica), available from tabacchi and newsstands. Codes are an integral part of the number and always need to be dialled, regardless of whether or not you are in the zone you are telephoning. All telephone numbers listed in the Guide include the relevant code. Numbers beginning T 800 are free, T 170 will get you through to an English-speaking operator, T 176 to international directory enquiries. Phone tariffs are among the most expensive in Europe, especially if you’re calling long-distance or internationally. You
BASICS
Phones
can cut costs hugely by buying a phone card – on sale from newspaper kiosks for upwards of €5; you don’t insert it into the phone but dial a freephone central number and then a pin code given on the reverse of the card.
Italian tourist offices abroad Australia Level 4, 46 Market St, Sydney, NSW 2000 T02/926-21666, Wwww.italiantourism.com.au.
Calling home from Italy Australia international access code + 61 + city code. Ireland international access code + 353 + city code. New Zealand international access code + 64 + city code. South Africa international access code + 27 + city code. UK & Northern Ireland international access code + 44 + city code. US & Canada international access code + 1 + area code.
57
BASICS
| Travel essentials
Canada 175 Bloor St East, Suite 907, South Tower, Toronto, ON M4W 3R8 T 416/925-4882, Wwww .italiantourism.com. UK 1 Princes St, London W1B 2AY T0207/408 1254, Wwww.italiantouristboard.co.uk. US 630 Fifth Ave, Suite 1565, New York, NY 10111 T212/245-5618; 12400 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 550, Los Angeles, CA 90025 T310/820-1898; 500 N Michigan Ave, 506, Chicago, IL 60611 T312/644-0996; Wwww.italiantourism.com.
Travelling with children Children are adored in Italy and will be made a fuss of in the street, and welcomed and catered for in bars and restaurants. Hotels normally charge around 30 percent extra to put a bed or cot in your room, though kids pay less on trains and can generally expect discounts for museum entry: prices vary, but 11–18-year-olds are usually admitted at half price on production of some form of ID (although sometimes this applies only to EU citizens). Under-11s – or sometimes only under-6s – have free entry. Supplies for babies and small children are pricey: nappies and milk formula can cost up to three times as much as in other parts of Europe. Discreet breastfeeding is widely accepted – even smiled on – but nappy changing facilities are few and far between. Branches of the children’s clothes and accessories chain, Prenatal, have changing facilities and a feeding area, but otherwise you may find you have to be creative. High-chairs are unusual too, although establishments in areas that see a high volume of foreign visitors tend to be better equipped.
Internet resources
58
Holidays With Kids Wwww.holidayswithkids .com.au. The website of the popular Holidays With Kids magazine, this site lists kid-friendly destinations and accommodation as well as providing advice to frazzled parents. You can book tours and holidays here, too. Travel With Your Children 40 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10011 T 212/477-5524 or 1-888/822-4388. Publishes a regular newsletter, Family Travel Times (Wwww.familytraveltimes.com), as well as a series of books on travel with children. W www.italyfamilyhotels.it An organization of hotels across Italy with facilities from cots and bottle warmers in rooms to baby sitters, play areas and special menus. New hotels are constantly joining.
Wwww.travelforkids.com Advice on planning holidays with children and tips on child-friendly tourist sights and activities, region by region.
Travellers with disabilities Facilities in Italy aren’t geared towards disabled travellers, though people are helpful enough and progress is being made to make accommodation, transport and public buildings more accessible. Public transport can be challenging, although low-level buses are gradually being introduced and some trains have disabled facilities. There will be several appropriate accommodation options in most resorts and you might want to ask the local tourist office to give you a hand with finding the most suitable. In more out-of-the-way places it’s rather pot luck. Spacious, specially designed toilets are becoming increasingly common in bars and restaurants as new legislation takes force. The cobbled streets in old town and village centres can present their own problems, as can access to sights, including galleries and museums. Even in the larger cities high kerbs, ad hoc parking and constant building works can make life difficult for the partially sighted and those in wheelchairs.
Contacts for travellers with disabilities Access-Able W www.access-able.com. Online resource for travellers with disabilities. Accessible Italy Italy T378.994.1111, W www .accessibleitaly.com. Italian operation offering organized tours or tailor-made trips. Accessible Journeys 35 W Sellers Ave, Ridley Park PA, US T800/846-4537, Wwww.disability travel.com. Travel tips and programmes for groups or individual travellers. Irish Wheelchair Association Blackheath Drive, Clontarf, Dublin 3, Ireland T 01/818 6400, Wwww .iwa.ie. Information and listings for wheelchair users travelling abroad. Society for the Advancement of Travellers with Handicaps (SATH) 347 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016, US T212/447-7284, Wwww.sath.org. Information on the accessibility of specific airlines and advice on travelling with certain conditions. Tourism for All Vitalise, Shap Road Industrial Estate, Shap Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 6NZ, UK T0845/124 9971, Wwww.tourismforall.org.uk. Provides free lists of accessible accommodation abroad and information on financial help for holidays.
Guide
59
Guide
60
1
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta ................................................... 61
2
Liguria..................................................................................... 97
3
Lombardy and the Lakes ..................................................... 139
4
Trentino-Alto Adige .............................................................. 213
5
Venice and the Veneto ......................................................... 257
6
Friuli-Venezia Giulia .............................................................. 343
7
Emilia-Romagna ................................................................... 369
8
Tuscany ................................................................................ 415
9
Umbria.................................................................................. 525
G
Le Marche ............................................................................ 579
H
Rome and Lazio ................................................................... 617
I
Abruzzo and Molise ............................................................. 705
J
Campania ............................................................................. 731
K
Puglia ................................................................................... 795
L
Basilicata and Calabria ........................................................ 839
M
Sicily ..................................................................................... 869
N
Sardinia ................................................................................ 947
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
1
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta
|
AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND 4 3
HUNGARY
SLOVENIA CROATIA
7
BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA
FRANCE
8
10 MONTENEGRO
9 Corsica (Fr.)
SERBIA
5
1 2
6
11
ADRIATIC SEA
12 14 13
15
17 TYRRHENIAN SEA
IONIAN SEA 16 ALGERIA
0
100 km
TUNISIA
61
CHAPTER 1 PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
✱
✱
| Highlights
✱
Highlights
White truffles This very costly speciality is shaved onto pasta and washed down with the excellent local Barolo or Barbaresco wine. See p.65 Sacra di San Michele The views of the surrounding valley from this fortified abbey are more than worth making your way up. See p.80 Alba This ancient, appealing town boasts a well-preserved
historic centre with a GothicLombard bubblegum-pink Duomo. See p.84
✱
Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso Italy’s first national park preserves alpine valleys and peaks that are home to ibex, chamois and golden eagles. See p.92
✱
Mont Blanc Enjoy excellent views of this awe-inspiring mountain from the Testa d’Arpy. See p.94
62
Sacra di San Michele
1 PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta
| n the extreme northwest of Italy, fringed by the French and Swiss Alps and grooved with deep valleys, Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta are among the least “Italian” regions in the country. Piemontesi spoke French until the end of the nineteenth century and Piemontese dialects reflect Provençal influence; Valle d’Aosta is bilingual and in some valleys the locals, whose ancestors emigrated from Switzerland, still speak a dialect based on German. Piemonte (literally “at the foot of the mountains”) is one of Italy’s wealthiest regions, known for its fine wines and food and for being home to huge Italian corporations such as Fiat and Olivetti. Italy’s longest river, the mighty Po, begins here, and the towns of its vast plain – which stretches right across northern Italy – have grown rich on both manufacturing and rice, cultivated in sweeping paddy fields. Turin, on the main rail and road route from France to Milan, is the obvious first stop and, despite being Italy’s second industrial city, retains a freshly restored Baroque core and is well placed for days out. South of Turin, Alba is the most enticing town, and a good base for visiting the region’s wine cantinas. Asti, to the southeast, really comes to life during its famous medieval Palio, or horse race. For the rest of the region, winter sports and walking are the main activities; Sestriere is the main skiing centre, while the ascent of Monviso in the far west appeals to the climbing fraternity. Further spectacular hikes and views are to be found in the adjoining region of Valle d’Aosta. Bordered by Europe’s highest mountains, Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn, veined with valleys and studded with castles, the region is undeniably picturesque. The central Aosta valley cuts right across it, following the River Dora to the foot of Mont Blanc on the French border. The main valley is rather bland, and it’s in the more scenic tributary valleys that you’ll want to spend most of your time. Aosta, the regional capital, is the only town of any size and, with its attractive cobbled streets and good shopping, makes an excellent staging post on the way to the smaller mountain resorts. Straddling the two provinces is the protected zone of Italy’s oldest and largest national park, the mountainous Gran Paradiso. The valleys here can be busy – the mountain rifugi and hotels become packed in summer – but development is purposely restrained to preserve pristine conditions. Although the western shore of Lago Maggiore is actually in Piemonte, we’ve treated all the lakes as a region and covered them in the “Lombardy and the Lakes” chapter; the Maggiore account starts on p.181.
I
63
PIEMONTE & VALLE D’AOSTA Brig
Cervino (Matterhorn) (4476m)
e
êm es V a l sa v a r e n c he
Valgris
Va l d i Rh
Val
di
C
gn
Degioz
e
D ’ A ya s
Stresa
se
Gressoney-la-Trinité Gressoney Saint-Jean
Varallo
Va l
Verrès Issogne PontSt-Martin Valnontey
Gran Paradiso
Arona A26
Biella
Milan
Ivrea
Novara Santhià
A4
Vercelli
L O M B A R DY
Colle de Lys
Ri v
Sant Ambrogio Avigliana Va l Fenestrelle C h i
Moncalvo Albugnano
ne
A6
Abbazia di Crissolo Staffarda Val l e Po
Paesana
Monviso Saluzzo (3841m) V a l V a r a i t a
Alessandria
Asti
Alba Grinzane di La Morra Cavour Barolo
Costigliole d’Asti
A26
PIEMONTE
Pinerolo
Acqui Terme
LE LANGHE
Val Maira
Prazzo
Casale Monferrato
A21
so
Sestriere Pinasca
o er P
Turin
le
Sauze d’Oulx
V a l l e d i Vi ù
Sacra di San Michele
Susa Bardonecchia Usseaux Oulx
Lago Maggiore
Lago d’Orta
Brusson
A5
| Modane
V al
Biel
Cogne
Pont (4061m) PARCO NAZIONALE DEL GRAN PARADISO
FRANCE
G res s oney
che
Introd
Val
St Fénis Vincent
he nc
Valgrisenche Rhêmes-Notre-Dame
V a l t o ur n e n
Nus
Aosta
La Thuile
Alagna
Champoluc
si a
VALLE D’AOSTA
Domodossola Verbania
M. Rosa
Breuil-Cervinia
S. Bernardo
Courmayeur Pré St-Didier
Locarno
A7
M. Bianco (Mont Blanc) Colle di Gran
o
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Chamonix
SWITZERLAND
Stroppo
Va
lle
Cúneo Ge
ss
Mondovi
o
Vernante
Valle del Pesio
Terme di Valdieri
Genoa
LIGURIA
V a l le Gr a na
St ura Valle Valdieri
Vicoforte Certosa di Pesio
Savona Grotta di Bossea
T YR R H E N I AN SEA
0
25 km
Nice & Monaco
Transport
64
Getting around Piemonte is fairly easy. The network of trains and buses is comprehensive, and your own transport is only necessary for the out-of-the-way places. You can get to most places from Turin; Alba makes a good base for Le Langhe, Saluzzo for the western valleys. Using public transport to explore the Valle d’Aosta is a bit trickier: buses run from Piemonte along the main valley past most of the castles, but services connecting the tributary valleys are infrequent, while trains are less regular and run only as far as Pré-St-Didier. For serious exploration of the quieter valleys, your own vehicle is a definite advantage. The road branches off at Aosta into Switzerland via the GrandSt-Bernard Pass and forks again some 30km further west at Pré-St-Didier: both
Regional food and wine
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Turin (Torino)
Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta are a paradise for gastronomes and connoisseurs of vintage wines. Rich Piemontese cuisine betrays close links with France through dishes like fonduta (fondue) and its preference for using butter and cream in cooking. Piemonte is perhaps most famous for its white truffles, the most exquisite of which come from around the town of Alba and are ferociously expensive. They are most often used in the form of shavings to subtly perfume a dish of pasta or a risotto. Watch out too for porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, and bagna caöda – a sauce of oil, anchovies, garlic, butter and cream, also served as a fondue. Agnolotti (pasta filled with meat or possibly with mushrooms or other vegetables) is the best-known dish, followed by meat buji (boiled) or braised in wine. Cheeses to look out for are tomini, robiole and tume. The sweets, too, are marvellous: among the decadent delights are spumone piemontese, a mousse of mascarpone cheese with rum; panna cotta, smooth cooked cream; and light pastries like lingue di gatto (cat’s tongues) and baci di dama (lady’s kisses). The best known is the bonet, a confection of chocolate and amaretti. Turin is also credited as the home of zabaglione, an egg yolk, sugar and Marsala mixture used to fill bignole, or iced choux pastries. The rolling vine-clad hills of Le Langhe and Monferrato produce traditional wines such as Barolo, Barbera and Nebbiolo. These fine reds need ageing, and Barolo in particular can be very expensive. More suitable for everyday drinking are wines made from the dolcetto grape, notably Dolcetto d’Alba, drunk young and lightly chilled. Probably the most famous is the sweet sparkling wine, Asti (wine makers dropped the “spumante” from the name in 1994 in a bid for a new image) – there has been a trend in recent years to make dry spumante too. Martini & Rossi and Cinzano vermouths are also produced in and around Turin, a fusion of the region’s wines with at least thirteen of the wild herbs that grow on its mountains. The traditional version to drink, now a brand name, is Punt e Mes (“point and a half”) – one part bitter to half-a-part sweet.
branches run into France – the southern via the Petit-St-Bernard Pass to Chambéry, the northern to Chamonix through the Mont Blanc tunnel. As these roads link France and Italy, they are much used by long-distance lorries, which are something of an earache and eyesore. However, a tunnel between Bruzolo and St Jean de Maurienne, still very much a work-in-progress, will permit lorries to be transported by rail, and should dramatically reduce traffic and pollution by the year 2020.
Turin (Torino) “Do you know Turin?” asked Nietzsche. “It is a city after my own heart…a princely residence of the seventeenth century, which has only one taste, giving commands to everything, the court and its nobility. Aristocratic calm is preserved in everything; there are no nasty suburbs.”
Although TURIN’s thoroughfares are far from calm, and its suburbs are as dreary as any in Italy, the renovated city centre’s gracious Baroque avenues and squares, opulent palaces, and splendid collections of Egyptian antiquities and northern European paintings are still there, as well as spanking-new pedestrian-only areas – a pleasant surprise to those who might have been expecting satanic factories and little else. Ever since the major spruce-up for the 2006 Winter Olympics, Turin’s emphasis has been on promoting its historic urban charms, such as its genteel belle époque cafés and traditional chocolate treats – not to mention an array of walking tours that explore the city’s extraordinary, vivid heritage (see box, p.71).
65
Some history
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Turin (Torino)
Although originally an ancient Roman settlement, it was the Savoy dynasty that left the largest impression on Turin: from 1563 the city was the seat of the Savoy dukes, who persecuted Piemonte’s Protestants and Jews, censored the press and placed education of the nobles in the fanatical hands of the Jesuits. The Savoys gained a royal title in 1713, and a few years later acquired Sardinia, which whetted their appetite for more territory. After more than a century of military and diplomatic wrangling with foreign powers, Duke Carlo Alberto di Savoia (who promised to “eat Italy like an artichoke”) teamed up with the liberal politician of the Risorgimento, Cavour, who used the royal family to lend credibility to the Italian Unification movement. In 1860, Sicily and southern Italy were handed over to Vittorio Emanuele, successor to Carlo Alberto, thereby elevating Piemonte’s king to sovereignty of all Italy. Turin became the new country’s capital, but only two years later, political turmoil moved the court to Florence, and then finally in 1870, to Rome, which had at last been wrested away from the pope. With its king now set up half a country away from home, Turin fell into the hands of the petty Piemontese nobility and quickly became a provincial backwater. Nevertheless, it retained its regal centre decked out in elaborate finery: its cafés lavishly encumbered with chandeliers, carved wood, frescoes and gilt – only slightly less ostentatious than the rooms of the Savoy palaces, fourteen in all, and now all listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites. World War I brought plenty of work to the city, but also food shortages, and, in 1917, street riots erupted, establishing Turin as a focus of labour activism. Gramsci led occupations of the Fiat factory here, going on to found the Communist Party. By the 1950s, Turin’s population had soared to 700,000, mainly made up of migrant workers from the poor south, who were housed in shanty towns outside the city and shunned as peasants by the Torinesi. By the 1960s Fiat’s workforce had grown to 130,000, with a further half million dependent on the company in some way. Not surprisingly, Turin became known as Fiatville. Today there are fewer people involved in the industry, and Fiat’s famous Lingotto factory is now a shopping centre and conference space; the gap left behind has been filled by some of the biggest names from other industries – Motorola, Einaudi, Ferrero, Martini & Rossi, Lavazza and many others – ensuring a continuation of Turin’s economic prosperity.
Arrival and information Turin’s airport, Caselle (T 011.567.6361 or 011.567.6362, W www.aeroportodi torino.it), is 15km north of the city, connected by buses every 30 to 45 minutes (less frequent on Sun) with Porta Susa and Porta Nuova train stations (40min;
Happy sesquicentenary
66
Since 2006, when Turin went all-out to gear up for the Winter Olympics, the city has truly been transformed: it’s now one of the most charming, user-friendly cities in Italy and a wonderful place for a relaxed stroll round the beautifully refurbished historic centre. And just in time, too, since 2011 has brought the city even more reason to pat itself on the back. The whole country will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Italian Unification, a movement in which Turin played a centralissimo role, serving as the country’s first capital and providing the new nation with its first kings. Important monuments and museums are finally opening their doors after years of restoration, and the city is planning once again to pull out all the stops. For updates of the calendar of events, check W www.torinopiupiemonte.com.
The Torino+Piemonte Card
| Turin (Torino)
€5.50, or €6.50 on the bus). The flat-rate taxi service to or from the airport costs €30. Turin’s main train station, Porta Nuova, on Corso Vittorio Emanuele II at the southern end of Via Roma, is convenient for the city centre and hotels. Some trains also stop at Porta Susa on Corso Inghilterra (Piazza XVIII Dicembre), west of the centre and heralded as the city’s primary hub in the near future. Close by, at Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 131/H, is the main bus station (W www.autostazione torino.it), the arrival and departure point for most intercity and all international buses; however, local buses to Saluzzo and Cúneo arrive at, and leave from, the top of Corso Marconi, near the junction with Via Nizza. The bus station is linked to Via Nizza (near Porta Nuova) and Porta Susa by bus #9 or #68. Parking spaces are marked with blue lines on the road and cost €0.50–2 per hour. More expensive parking lots lie under some main piazzas. The main tourist office is in Piazza Castello at Via Garibaldi (daily 9am–7pm; T 011.535.181, W www.turismotorino.org). There are also branches at the Porta Nuova train station (daily 9am–7pm) and the airport (daily 8am–11pm); as well as a good range of information they can supply you with the Torino+Piemonte Card (see box above).
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The very reasonable Torino+Piemonte Card (€20 for 48hr, €25 for 72hr, €31 for 5 days or €35 for a week; W www.turismotorino.org) is valid for one adult and one child under 12 and allows free entrance to all museums – more than 170 – plus discounts on guided tours, theatre performances, concerts, opera, parking and even car rental. It also includes free use of above-ground urban transport and a discount on the City Sightseeing bus (see below). The card is available from tourist offices. Note that the majority of Turin museums stop selling tickets up to an hour before closing time.
City transport Most of Turin’s sights are within walking distance of Porta Nuova station, although if you’re pushed for time you should take advantage of the city’s fast and efficient tram and bus network (W www.gtt.to.it). Tickets, valid for seventy minutes, must be bought before you board – they cost €1 each or €13.50 for fifteen from tabacchi and newsstands. Useful routes include tram #4, which heads north through the city from Porta Nuova along Via XX Settembre close to Piazza della Repubblica; bus #1 between Porta Nuova and the Lingotto Centre; tram #11 from Porta Nuova close to Piazza Castello; bus #61 from Porta Nuova across the river to the Sassi-Superga tramway. Alternatively, it’s possible to explore the city by City Sightseeing (daily, circuit every hour 10am–8pm, Jan & Feb weekends only; €15, valid 24hr; W www.torino.city-sightseeing.it), which operates a hop-on-hop-off circular route that takes in the major sights. You can pick it up at Piazza Castello and nine other points along the route; buy tickets on the bus. Taxi ranks are found on most of the main squares in the centre of Turin, as well as at the bus and train stations and the airport, or call T 011.5730 or 011.5737.
Accommodation Turin has attractive hotels in every quarter. Demand is usually high, especially during the skiing season and trade fairs (when prices also rise), so it’s a good idea to phone in advance. Be aware that some places offer special weekend packages – and that a few hotels close in August, which is low season for Turin.
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Airport, Stadio delle Alpi & Stazione Dora
Alpi Resort Via A. Bonafous 5 T 011.812.9677, W www.hotelalpiresort.it. An elegant entrance on a busy street near the river leads to modest but attractive soundproof rooms. Services include parking, laundry and internet. Breakfast extra. 5
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& Palazzina di Caccia Stupinigi
Bologna Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 60 T011.562.0191, W www.hotelbolognasrl.it. Ideally located for transport, in a period building offering 45 recently remodelled rooms. Amenities include fridges, satellite TV and parking. 3 Boston Via Massena 70 T011.500.359, Wwww.hotelbostontorino.it. A stunning “art
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hotel”, celebrating Turin as Italy's burgeoning capital of contemporary art. The collections adorning both common rooms and in the stylish guestrooms are of the highest gallery calibre, and there’s even an audio guide available. Every comfort has been seen to. 5 Chelsea Via Cappel Verde 1/D T011.436.0100, W www.hotelchelsea.it. Rooms here are well
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BARS & CLUBS 1870 Huntsman Pub Fluido Hiroshima Mon Amour Jam Club Jumping Jester Las Rosas Lobelix Magazzino di Gilgamesh Roar Roads Tre Galli
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appointed and soundproof, with a/c, minibars and other quality touches. The hotel also has its own restaurant, La Campana, featuring Pugliese specialities. Breakfast not included. 5 Conte Biancamano Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 73 T011.562.3281, Wwww .hotelcontebiancamano.it. If you feel like staying
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| Turin (Torino)
in a rather grandiose setting, go for this hotel set in an old palace with panelled ceilings and large, elegant rooms. 3 Des Artistes Via Principe Amedeo 21 T 011.812.4416, W www.desartisteshotel.it. This comfortable, spacious hotel has simple, smart rooms with a/c and parking. 6 Genio Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 47 T 011.650.5771, W www.hotelgenio.it. Very large, three-star Best Western, occupying a historic building. Rooms are elegant and diverse, some even boasting ceiling frescoes. Impressive buffet breakfast included. 6 Liberty Via Gioberti 37 T 011.1978.1101, W www.hotelliberty-torino.it. A well-appointed and very welcoming find, with Art Nouveau (Liberty) architectural touches and a staff who take the hotel motto to heart: Passion Lives Here. Recently renovated for maximum comfort. 3 Montevecchio Via Montevecchio 13 bis T 011.562.0023, W www.hotelmontevecchio.com. Though rather spartan, this hotel does have TV and telephone in all rooms. 3 Piemontese Via Berthollet 21 T 011.669.8101, W www.hotelpiemontese.it. Handy location on the colourful, commercial side of the train station.
The well-appointed rooms range from suites with jacuzzi to comfortable singles. Though breakfast is included, note that the afternoon aperitif and parking are extra. 4 Roma e Rocca Cavour Piazza Carlo Felice 60 T011.561.2772, W www.romarocca.it. Large, old-style, family-run hotel in front of the Porta Nuova station, overlooking a lively square with park and fountain. All in all, good value and classically attractive, with the choice of a very substantial buffet breakfast at €8 per person. All rooms have free wi-fi. 3
Hostels Ostello 011 Corso Venezia 11 T011.250.535, Wwww.openzero11.it. Downright spartan but colourful and comfortable enough, serving also as a youth centre. Half- and full board also offered. Dorm beds from €16.50, rooms 1 Ostello Torino Via Alby 1 T 011.660.2939, Wwww.ostellotorino.it. Located in a bucolic area with views, this excellent facility has various services, including wi-fi, available at nominal extra charge. Dinner is available for €10.50. Membership card required (€18), sold by the hostel. Dorm beds from €15; rooms 1
The City The grid street-plan of Turin’s Baroque centre makes it easy to find your way around. Via Roma is the central spine of the city, a grand affair lined with designer shops and ritzy cafés. It’s punctuated by the city’s most elegant piazzas: at one end Piazza Carlo Felice, boasting a small park; in the middle Piazza San Carlo, close to which are some of the more prestigious museums; and at the other end, Piazza Castello, with its royal palaces standing stately in a vast pedestrian-only zone. On either side are pedestrianized shopping streets, more relaxed than Via Roma and noted for the evening passeggiata in summer. North is Piazza della Repubblica, a huge square with the largest open-air market in Europe. To the east the porticoes of Via Po lead to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, slanting down to the River Po, along which a stroll southward brings you to the extensive Parco del Valentino, and some of the city’s best nightlife just downriver at Murazzi. Beyond is the engaging Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile and the Lingotto Centre, which houses the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, an art gallery displaying the Fiat magnates’ superb private collection, while the hills across the river – which are peppered with the Art Nouveau villas of the richest Torinesi – are crowned by the Basilica di Superga. Further south, beyond the city limits, lies the royal Stupinigi Hunting Lodge. Porta Nuova and around
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The area along the east side of the Porta Nuova station was a construction site at the time of writing and the situation has only exacerbated the usual seediness endemic to all major train stations in Italy. The western flank is uneventful, but the eastern side is a kind of no-man’s-land haunt of prostitutes and petty criminals, though the potentially elegant arcades (portici) of Via Nizza and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II are typical of Turin’s measured symmetry – the city boasts over 40km of these colonnaded walkways.
Via Roma and Piazza San Carlo
The Museo Egizio and Galleria Sabauda
Around the corner from Piazza San Carlo, the Museo Egizio, Via Accademia delle Scienze 6 (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7.30pm, ticket office closes 1hr before closing time; €7.50, joint ticket with Galleria Sabauda €8), holds a superb collection of Egyptian antiquities, begun under the aegis of Carlo Emanuele III in the mid-eighteenth century and added to over the ensuing centuries. With some thirty thousand artefacts, it’s the largest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside of Cairo. The ground floor evokes a vast temple, with massive granite sphinxes, gods and pharaohs looming out of the subdued lighting. Upstairs, you’ll find decorated mummy cases and an intriguing assortment of everyday objects, including castanets, sandals, a linen tunic dating from 2300 BC, and even food – eggs, pomegranates and grain, recognizable despite their shrivelled, darkened state. The collection’s undoubted highlights are a statue of Ramses II and the Tomb of Kha and Mirit. The tomb, discovered in 1906 at Deir-el-Medina, is that of a 1400 BC architect, Kha, and his wife Mirit. Kha’s burial chamber contains an astonishing assortment of after-life supplies, including a board game to while away the posthumous hours, as well as his own personal illustrated copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. And to ensure that Mirit kept up appearances, she was provided with a cosmetic case, wig, comb and tweezers.
| Turin (Torino)
Back at Porta Nuova, crossing the road brings you to the neat gardens of busy Piazza Carlo Felice, beyond which begins Via Roma, the stamping ground of the well heeled. Halfway down, spacious Piazza San Carlo is known with some justification as the parlour of Turin; it’s a grand, cloister-like space fronted by Baroque facades, the porticoes of which house elegant cafés. Holding court is an equestrian statue of the Savoy duke Emanuele Filiberto raising his sword in triumph after securing Turin’s independence from the French and Spanish at the battle of San Quintino in 1574. The entrance to the square is watched over by two gigantic Fascist-era reclining nudes representing Turin’s two rivers, the Po and the Dora, and past them the twin Baroque churches of San Carlo Borromeo and Santa Cristina.
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A few blocks west of here, the GAM (Galleria Civica d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea) at Via Magenta 31 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €7.50, free first Tues of the month; W www.gamtorino.it) features a good cross-section of twentiethcentury works by artists as varied as De Chirico, Morandi, Modigliani, Picasso, Klee and Warhol. The rest of the collection is enlivened only by a fine work by the nineteenth-century French Realist painter Gustave Courbet. However, as the gallery is on the international circuit for touring exhibitions and loans, there is often more than enough to compensate.
Walking tours Pedestrian-friendly Turin is a fine place to take a walking tour, with several different themes on offer. Perhaps the most intriguing tour is based on the city’s age-old reputation as one of the three great European centres of the occult (along with London and Prague). To visit some of the noted esoteric sites, relating to both black and white magic, check out Wwww.somewhere.it (T011.668.0580) for their Magic Turin evening walking tour (Thurs & Sat; 9pm at Piazza Statuto 15; 2hr 30min; €20). If the arcane is not your thing, they also offer at least eleven other tours, including Subterranean Turin (Fri; 8.30pm from Piazza Vittorio Veneto 5; 3hr; €25). Make reservations through the website.
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Upstairs from the museum, the Galleria Sabauda (Tues, Fri, Sat & Sun 8.30am– 2pm, Wed 2–7.30pm, Thurs 10am–7.30pm; €4, or joint ticket with Museo Egizio €8) was built around the Savoys’ private collection and is still firmly stamped with their taste: a crowded miscellany of Italian, Dutch and Flemish paintings punctuated by some real masterpieces. Of the Italian paintings, the most arresting is perhaps Botticelli’s Venus. She is not nearly as elaborate as her Uffizi counterpart, but every bit as alluring. The fifteenth-century Archangel Raphael and Tobias by Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo is another of the gallery’s signature works, while the Dutch and Flemish section contains Van Eyck’s Stigmatization of St Francis, a warmly human piece and the only panel by this artist in Italy. The collections are hung in a crowded, old-fashioned manner but it’s also worth seeking out Van Dyck’s The Children of Charles I of England (a copy of which hangs in the Palazzo Reale). Museo del Risorgimento
| Turin (Torino)
Via Roma continues north through the heart of Turin, passing near some of the significant monuments of the Savoys and Italian Unification. The Museo Nazionale del Risorgimento Italiano, Via Accademia delle Scienze 5 (closed for restoration at the time of writing but set to reopen sometime in 2011), housed in the star-flecked Palazzo Carignano, birthplace of Vittorio Emanuele II, is worth a visit. The first meetings of the Italian parliament were held in the palace’s circular Chamber of the Subalpine Parliament, and the building was the power base of leaders like Cavour, who ousted the more radical Garibaldi to an early retirement on the island of Caprera near Sardinia. It’s ironic, then, that the most interesting sections of the museum are those dedicated to Garibaldi: portraits showing him as a scruffy, long-haired revolutionary, some of his clothes – an embroidered fez, a long stripy scarf and one of the famous red shirts – adopted during his exile in South America. These shirts became the uniform of his army of a thousand volunteers who seized southern Italy and Sicily from the Bourbons. The Palazzo Reale
What Vittorio Emanuele II made of the eccentrically dressed revolutionary who secured half the kingdom for him is undocumented, but you feel sure that his residence, the sixteenth-century Palazzo Reale (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7.30pm; visits to the royal kitchen included Sat & Sun 2.30–5pm; €6.50), at the head of the sprawling Piazza Castello, wouldn’t have impressed Garibaldi. Designed by Castellamonte, this nouveau-riche palace with an unexceptional facade hides glitzy, semi-furnished rooms gilded virtually top-to-bottom and decorated with bombastic allegorical paintings. On the right-hand side of the Palazzo Reale is the Armeria Reale (Tues–Fri 9am–2pm, Sat, Sun & hols 1–7pm; €4), a collection of armour and weapons spanning seven centuries and several continents started by King Carlo Alberto in 1837. Pride of place is given to his stuffed horse, which stands among cases of guns and swords. There’s also an exotic, and rather chilling, collection of oriental arms, including gorgeously jewelled Turkish dagger sheaths and intimidating Japanese masks. The same building houses the Biblioteca Reale (Mon & Wed 8.15am–6.45pm, Tues & Thurs–Sat 8.15am–1.45pm; free, varying fees for temporary exhibitions), which occasionally displays its collection of drawings by artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Bellini, Raphael, Tiepolo and Rembrandt. The Palazzo Madama 72
Across the square from the Palazzo Reale, the Palazzo Madama is an altogether more appealing building, with an ornate Baroque facade by the early eighteenthcentury architect Juvarra, who also redesigned the piazza and many of the streets leading off it. Inside, the originally fifteenth-century palace incorporates parts of
Shrouded in mystery
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a thirteenth-century castle and some Roman portal foundations – in effect it’s an architectural cross-section of the city’s history. The most noteworthy architectural pieces are Juvarra’s Great Staircase and the archeological excavations of the Medieval Court (Tues–Fri & Sun 9am–7pm, Sat 10am–8pm; free). It’s well worth visiting the Museo Civico d’Arte Antica (Tues–Sat 10am–6pm, Sun 10am–8pm; ticket office closes one hour before closing time; €7.50, free first Tues of the month) – a stunning collection of thousands of objects that includes everything from early Christian gold jewellery via a vast array of world ceramics to royal furniture such as an inlaid Gothic commode, all rearranged into chronological order complete with excellent multilingual captions.
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During the devastating Duomo fire of 1997, a quick-thinking fireman rescued from a blazing chapel what has been called “the most remarkable forgery in history”, the Turin Shroud – a linen sheet bearing the image of a man’s body – claimed to be the shroud in which Christ was wrapped after his crucifixion. One of the most famous medieval relics, it made world headlines in 1988 after carbon-dating tests carried out by three universities each concluded it was a fake, made between 1260 and 1390. Since 1988, the Shroud has continued to be a tissue of contention between true believers and true scientists (see Wwww.shroud.com for all the shreds of conspiracy and patchwork of rationalizations, torn every which way; the official website is Wwww.sindone.org). Most recently, in 2005, an American chemist posited that somehow all three carbon tests were mistakenly conducted on a medieval patch and that the oldest parts of the fabric were in the target age range. But even if the cloth itself were proven of biblical vintage, that’s just the starting point. Unless the Vatican gives full access (supremely unlikely) to a whole army of impartial experts to test the fragile fabric – including DNA tests of the supposed bloodstains – the Shroud’s authenticity will always remain a simple matter of faith.
The Duomo
Behind the Palazzo Reale – and reached through a small passage – is the fifteenthcentury Duomo (daily 7am–12.30pm & 3–7pm), at Via XX Settembre 87 in Piazza San Giovanni. The only example of Renaissance architecture in Turin, it was severely damaged in a fire in 1997. It is most famous as the home of the Turin Shroud (see box above), but the reconstruction of the fantastic Holy Shroud Chapel, designed by Guarini in 1668, will not be completed until at least 2011. Most of the time you can’t see the Shroud itself; it is locked away and officially only on display once every 25 years (the last time was April–May of 2010). However, it is sometimes brought out for special occasions (it’s worth checking at the tourist office). If you don’t get to see the real thing, head to the left of the nave, where there’s a photographic reproduction, on which the face of a bearded man, crowned with thorns, is clearly visible, together with marks supposed to have been left by a double-thonged whip, spear wounds and bruises that could have been caused carrying a cross. For those whose interest is still not satiated, there is a museum that covers the history and science of the Shroud, Museo della Sindone (daily 9am–noon & 3–7pm; €6), on Via San Domenico 28. Relics of Turin’s days as a small Roman colony are visible from outside the Duomo: the scant remains of a theatre and the impressive Porta Palatina – two sixteen-sided towers flanking an arched passageway. Smaller archeological finds can be seen in the Museo di Antichità (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7.30pm; €4), behind the Duomo at Corso Regina Margherita 105, in what were the Palazzo Reale’s orangeries.
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Piazza della Repubblica and around
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| Turin (Torino)
Northwest of the Duomo, the huge Piazza della Repubblica, otherwise known as Porta Palazzo, hosts Europe’s largest outdoor market (Mon–Fri 8.30am–1.30pm, Sun 8.30am–6.30pm), selling mainly fruit and vegetables, but also some clothes and, in the indoor market hall, cheeses, bread and salumi. Behind the Porta Palazzo is the Saturday-morning Balôn, or flea market, where you can find everything from pirate DVDs to fake designer gear. On the second Sunday of each month there’s a Gran Balôn on the same spot, with opportunities to buy collectables including lace, toys, secondhand furniture and books. West of Piazza della Repubblica stands Turin’s most elaborate church, the royal Santuario della Consolata, in Piazza della Consolata (daily 6am–8.30pm), built to house an ancient statue of the Madonna, Maria Consolatrice, the protector of the city. Designed by Guarini, its Neoclassical facade is pink and white, while the interior has an impressive decorative altar by Juvarra. Don’t miss the vast array of votive objects devout Torinesi have offered to the statue, housed in an ancient crypt below the church. Not to be missed either is the series of paintings in the church, featuring people being “saved” from such disasters as being gored by a bull, cutting overhead electricity cables with garden shears, exploding frying pans, and numerous accidents involving prams and trams. After all this, you may well want to head across the piazza to the beautiful old café, Al Bicerin (see p.77) for a pick-me-up. Historically, in nineteenth-century post-Unification Turin, it was the only café women could frequent without causing a scandal. Southwest of Piazza della Repubblica is the newest addition to world culture in the city, the Museo d’Arte Orientale (MAO), Via San Domenico 11 (Tues– Sun 10am–6pm; €7.50), with an extraordinary range of Asian collections, the highlights including a trove of second- to fourth-century Gandharan sculpture, millennia-old Chinese pieces and an impressive number of ninth- to seventeenthcentury Islamic art. The Mole Antonelliana
The porticoes of Via Po lead down to the river from Piazza Castello, ending just before the bridge in the vast arcaded Piazza Vittorio Veneto. Halfway down, a left onto Via Montebello brings you to the huge Mole Antonelliana, whose bishop’shat dome, topped by a pagoda-like spire balancing on a mini-Greek temple, is a distinctive landmark and has been adopted as the city’s emblem. Designed as a synagogue in the nineteenth century by the eccentric architect Antonelli, the building was ceded to the local council by Turin’s Jewish community while still under construction because of escalating costs. The decision to house the modern Museo Nazionale del Cinema at Via Montebello 20 (Tues–Fri & Sun 9am–8pm, Sat 9am–11pm; €7, or €9 including the lift to the top, €5 for lift only) in this rather unusual building seems a suitable way to celebrate the sheer spectacle of the place. Turin’s involvement with cinema goes back to the early years of the twentieth century, when it was one of the first Italian cities to import and experiment with the new medium. The interesting museum covers the early days of the magic lantern and experimental moving pictures, the development of the cinema as a global phenomenon, and twenty-first-century special effects. Parco del Valentino 74
South along the river from Piazza Vittorio Veneto, the riverside Parco del Valentino borders the site of a cluster of Turin’s nightclubs – known as the Murazzi area (see p.78). In the daytime the rambling grounds make a pleasant place to wind down after the hum of the city centre. There are two castles here,
Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile
| Turin (Torino)
Three kilometres south along the river takes you to the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile at Corso Unità d’Italia 40 (closed for restoration at the time of writing; check W www.museoauto.it for opening date), Italy’s only motor museum. Even if you know nothing about cars, this has some appeal – you’ll discover strange vehicles from motoring’s formative days and others familiar from classic films, as the museum traces the development from early cars, handcrafted for a privileged minority, to the mass-produced family version. One of the favourite luxury models is the gleaming Isotta Fraschini driven by Gloria Swanson in the film Sunset Blvd., still with the initials of Norma Desmond, the character she played, on the side. The pride of the collection is the 1907 Itala, which won the Peking-to-Paris race in the same year; you can read of its adventures in Luigi Barzini’s book Peking to Paris.
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though only one is the genuine article. The ornate Castello Valentino was another Savoy residence and is nowadays the seat of the university’s faculty of architecture, while the Borgo e Rocca Mediovale date from an industrial exhibition held in 1884. The Borgo is a reconstructed medieval village (daily: April–Oct 9am–8pm; Nov–March 9am–7pm; free) whose houses are a synthesis of the best dwellings of medieval Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta, built with the same materials as the originals and using the same construction techniques. The centrepiece of the village, the Rocca (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €5, free first Tues of each month) is a fifteenthcentury castle, which, although bogus, actually conjures up a picture of life in a medieval castle far better than many of the originals, kitted out with painstaking replicas of intricately carved Gothic furniture.
The Lingotto Centre
Walking 200m further on and turning right down Via Garessio takes you to what was the original Fiat factory, the Lingotto Centre at Via Nizza 250 (tram #1 or #18 from Via Accademia Albertina). Fiat’s headquarters are still here but the main part of the building, redesigned by Renzo Piano, houses a conference and exhibition space and a shopping centre, as well as the Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli at no. 230 (Tues–Sun 10am–7pm, ticket office closes 6.15pm; €4, €3 surcharge for special exhibitions), a very small but priceless collection of artworks donated by the head of the Fiat dynasty, Gianni Agnelli, and his wife. The paintings are housed in a glass-and-metal gallery, which overlooks the test track on top of the former Fiat car works. The collection consists of mainly nineteenth- and twentiethcentury masterpieces, including a number of Matisses and a couple of Picassos, as well as Modigliani’s Nu Couché and Manet’s La Négresse. The eighteenth century is represented by six Canalettos and Tiepolo’s Halberdier in a Landscape. Parco della Rimembranza and the Basilica di Superga
Southeast of the river, Turin fades into decrepit suburbs, beyond which lie the wooded hills concealing the fancy villas of the city’s industrialists. For a taste of the views enjoyed by Turin’s mega-rich, take bus #70 from Piazza Vittorio Veneto up to the Parco della Rimembranza, which features ten thousand trees planted in honour of the Torinese victims of World War I and crowned with an enormous light-flashing statue of Victory. The Sassi-Superga tram, complete with its original 1884 carriages, runs up to the grandiose Baroque Basilica di Superga, from which there are fine panoramas across the city to the Alps. Tram #15 leaves from Piazza Castello to Sassi station from where the Sassi-Superga tram runs hourly on the hour every day except Tuesday (9am–noon & 2–5pm, Sat, Sun & hols 9am–8pm; €4 return, weekends & holidays €5.50).
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The basilica (April–Oct Mon–Fri 9am–noon & 3–6pm, Sat & Sun 9am–12.45pm & 3–6.45pm; Nov–March Mon–Fri 9am–noon & 3–5pm, Sat & Sun 9am–12.45pm & 3–5.45pm; basilica free, €3 to climb the dome, €4 to visit the Savoy tombs and the royal apartments), a Filippo Juvarra creation, stands high on a hill above the city. In 1706 Duke Vittorio Amedeo climbed the hill in order to study the positions of the French and Spanish armies who had been besieging the city for four months, and vowed that he would erect a temple to the Madonna on this site if she were to aid him in the coming battle. Turin was spared, and the duke immediately set Juvarra to work, flattening the top of the hill and producing over the next 25 years the circular basilica you see today. The elegant dome, pierced by windows and supported on pairs of white columns, is flanked by delicately scalloped onion-domed towers and rises above a Greek temple entrance, these days defaced by graffiti. Many Torinesi come here not to pay homage to the Virgin, nor even to see the splendid tombs of the Savoys, but to visit the tomb of the 1949 Torino football team, all of whom were killed when their plane crashed into the side of the hill. The Stupinigi Palace
| Turin (Torino)
A nearby attraction worth the trip is the Savoy dynasty’s luxurious hunting lodge, the Palazzina di Caccia di Stupinigi (closed for restoration at the time of writing; due to reopen in 2011). Another Juvarra design, built in the 1730s and perhaps his finest work, it’s a symmetrical fantasy with a generous dash of Rococo. The exterior of the palace has been restored, while the interior is as luxurious as it ever was, also incorporating the Museo d’Arte e Ammobiliamento, a collection of art and furniture from other Savoy palaces. The most extravagant room, the oval Salone Centrale, is a dizzying triumph of optical illusion that merges fake features with real in a superb trompe l’oeil. Other rooms are decorated with hunting motifs: Diana, goddess of the hunt, bathes on bedroom ceilings; hunt scenes proceed across walls; and even the chapel is dedicated to Sant’Uberto, patron saint of hunting. To get here, take bus #63 from Porta Nuova (bus stop #3492 “Porta Nuova FS” in Via Sacchi) then change at the stop after Piazza Caio Mario (bus stop #1080 “Imperia”) to bus #41; on the way you’ll pass through the bleak Mirafiori suburbs on the west side of the city, built for workers at the nearby Fiat plant. Finally, get off at stop #1085 “Stupinigi”. The Castello di Rivoli
Another rewarding trip is west to Rivoli and its Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, housed in the baroque Castello di Rivoli (Piazza Mafalda di Savoia; Tues–Thurs 10am–5pm, Fri–Sun 10am–9pm; €6.50), one-time residence of the Savoy family. It’s the most important collection of postwar art in Italy, ranging from works by Jeff Koons, Carl Andre and Claes Oldenburg to Arte Povera artists such as Mario Merz and Alighiero Boetti. Take the Metro service from Stazione Porta Susa to Collegno (Metro stop Fermi) and then the shuttle to Castello di Rivoli (9am–4pm, return 11am–5.15pm; service about every 1hr 30min; 45min; €1.50 total).
Eating and drinking
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It’s worth taking your time over a drink, snack, pastry or ice cream in one of the fin-de-siècle cafés that are a Turin institution: prices are steep, but the elegant belle époque interiors – often with touches of Art Nouveau (known as “Liberty” style in Italy) – more than compensate. The city also has plenty of good restaurants in which to sample local cuisine.
Turin’s chocolate
Snacks and ice cream
Cafés Al Bicerin Piazza della Consolata 5. This tiny, beautiful café is the place to try a bicerin – a Piemontese speciality of coffee fortified with brandy, cream and chocolate. Closed Wed & Aug. Baratti & Milano Piazza Castello 29. Established in 1873 and preserving its nineteenth-century interior of mirrors, chandeliers and carved wood, where genteel Torinese ladies sip teas. Great hot chocolate. Closed Mon.
Fiorio Via Po 8. Turin’s most historic café, once patronized by Nietzsche, presumably for its legendary gelato and its signature cappuccino, €3. Closed Mon. Mood Via Battisti 3. Books, coffee and aperitifs in the cosy Turin tradition. Not part of Turin history, like the others, but very attractive. Closed Sun. Mulassano Piazza Castello 9. This inviting café first opened in 1900; it has marble fittings and a striking ceiling. Traditionally the favoured spot of actors and singers from the nearby Teatro Regio. Pepino Piazza Carignano 8. Ritzy café on the piazza, famed for its ice creams. Try the violet-flavoured pinguino or the outrageously rich cream-andchocolate concoction of pezzo duro. Also offers an excellent Sunday-brunch buffet menu for about €19. Closed Mon. Platti Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 72. This Art Nouveau-furnished café dating from 1870 also hosts art exhibitions. Good place for lunch, or just a quick snack, with delicious tramezzini sandwiches going for about €3 each. The tuna with artichoke hearts is a classic. San Carlo Piazza San Carlo 156. Heroes of the Risorgimento once met in this café/ restaurant/ice-cream parlour, now regally restored with gilt pilasters and an immense chandelier. An incredibly smooth cappuccino will cost you €1.40 at the bar. San Tommaso Via San Tommaso 10. A Torinese institution, the original home of Lavazza coffee has been transformed into a sleek, upbeat café where coffee in all its many guises is king, including, of course, that Torinese favourite, the bicerin. Closed Sun. Torino Piazza San Carlo 204. Another plush place for a leisurely aperitif or cocktail, of which the most popular is the Torinese “Elvira”, made with Martini, vodka and various secret ingredients. Illustrious regulars have included writer Cesare Pavese and Luigi Einaudi (a Torinese economist who became the second president of the Italian Republic).
| Turin (Torino)
Brek Piazza Carlo Felice 22 and Via Santa Teresa 23 (Piazza Solferino). Part of a national chain of efficient, high-quality self-service spots with tables outside. Main courses start at €5. Exki Via XX Settembre 12 and Via Pietro Micca 2. Natural, fresh and organic is the philosophy of this snack bar. Sandwiches, soups and drinks to eat in or take away. Closed Sun. Frullateria Piazza Castello 44. Very central lunchtime option, with sandwiches and an array of fresh local and tropical fruits, ready for the liquidizer. Closed Sun. Gobino Via Lagrange 1. Maestro Gobino is definitely in the running for producing the most delicious chocolates in the world. A sampling, at the very least, is not to be missed. Mon 3–8pm, Tues–Sun 10am–8pm. There’s also a boutique at Via Cagliari 15/B. Grom Piazza Paleocapa 1/D and Via Accademia delle Scienze 4. This organic gelateria conquered the market with its vibrant all-natural flavours that are simply unforgettable. Look for the queue out into the square. Go for the unique crema di Grom, with cornmeal biscuit bits and dark chocolate chips, or check out the flavours of the month. Vasavasa Via Amendola 4 bis. Sicilianstyle gelateria, silky and always very select, according to the availability of only the very best ingredients. Delightful, somewhat postmodern space.
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Make sure you leave some room to sample one of Turin’s signature products – chocolate. Best known is the hazelnut milk chocolate Gianduiotto, which dates back to the nineteenth century. Some even claim that it was the Torinesi who introduced chocolate to France when chocolate making for export began in 1678. A uniquely Torinese opportunity to indulge is the ChocoPass. You can taste samples of the finest chocolate products in all of Turin’s historic establishments, confectionery shops and chocolate factories: Gianduiotti, pralines, various cakes, hot chocolate, and the distinctive bicerin, which is a bit like a cappuccino but fortified with brandy. The ChocoPass booklets have 10 vouchers valid for two days (€12). Otherwise, the supreme Torinese spot to buy chocolate is Gobino; see below).
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Restaurants
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| Turin (Torino)
Alba Via San Pio V 8 T011.669.2054. A classic trattoria, near Porta Nuova station, where everything is home-made and prices and staff are very friendly. Full meals run to about €15. Closed Fri. Caffè Vini Emilio Ranzini Via Porta Palatina 9/G T 011.765.0477. Time has stopped in this most authentic of traditional Turin eateries, known as a piola, catering for workers, artists and students. Fare includes panini made with delicacies such as anchovies and sun-dried tomatoes, or salami and cheese; you can suggest your own combinations. Don’t forget to sample the wines. Closed Sun. Consorzio Via Monte di Pietà 23 T011.276.7661. Pleasantly trendy Slow Food spot, where everything is organic, as well as lovingly and expertly prepared. The menu varies according to market finds. Expect to pay around €35 for a full meal, including a sampling of dry, fruity Ruché wine. Closed Sun. Cucco Corso Casale 89 T011.819.5536. A big Art Nouveau place near the river, serving typical Piemontese cooking at moderate prices with a choice of around thirty antipasti. Closed Mon. Da Michele Piazza Vittorio Veneto 4 T011.888.836. Offering a commanding view of the long square from under the portico, this place is locally renowned for its superb fresh pastas and strictly seasonal specialities, as well as wood oven-fired pizzas. Full meals €20–40 per person. Closed Tues. Del Cambio Piazza Carignano 2 T011.546.690. Historic, lavish shrine to Piemontese food, much frequented by expense-account types. A great opportunity to feast on traditional dishes such as Cavour’s favourite of fianziera (veal, sweetbreads
and porcini, cooked with butter and wine). Prices are suitably extravagant – starting around €25 for a main – and booking is advisable. Closed Sun & three weeks in Aug. Il Punto Verde Via San Massimo 17 T011.885.543. Reasonably priced vegetarian restaurant with a good selection of dishes and a quiet outside terrace. You can practically make a meal of the buffet table starters (€11); or for €13 try one of their inventive “monopiatti”. Closed Sat & Sun. Porto di Savona Piazza Vittorio Veneto 2 T011.817.3500. Cheap and cheerful restaurant, very popular with both students and business people, attracted primarily by the formula of piatto unico (single option main course) and dessert for €8–10. Fried dishes are a speciality. Scannabue Largo Saluzzo 25/H T011.669.6693. A wonderful new gourmet choice in a people-watching piazza on this up-andcoming side of the station. Try the swordfish with tomato, or the tarte tatin of fennel and parmesan. Superb wines by the glass €3–6. Count on spending about €40–50 per person. Reservations are a must. Closed Mon. Sfashioncafé Via Cesare Battisti 13 (Piazza Carlo Alberto) T011.516.0085. Enormous portions and great pizzas. Lunchtime bargains start at €8 and include a main course, a great house salad, drink and coffee or dessert. Colourful, friendly interior, plus sunny seating on the piazza. Tre Galline Via Bellezia 37 T011.436.6553. The oldest restaurant in Turin, with a lovely panelled interior. The agrodolce (sweet-and-sour) rabbit is a house speciality. Reckon on €35 a head; booking advisable. Closed all day Sun, Mon lunchtime & Aug.
Nightlife Turin’s nightlife is more sedate than that of, say, Milan, but there’s a reasonably varied mix of clubs and bars, with the liveliest spot down on the embankment bordered by the Parco del Valentino, known locally as the Murazzi. Its clubs are packed with a lively crowd at weekends so there’s often a heavy police presence, and if you go, you should keep an eye on your belongings. Note that some clubs require membership cards, purchased when you enter (€5–10) with your first drink usually included. After that, although drink prices can be inflated measures are relatively generous. Aside from the Murazzi, a good place to wander for a drink is the more tranquil medieval area, known as the Quadrilatero Romano, around Piazza Emanuele Filiberto and Via Santa Chiara. Many of the old birrerie have been supplemented by new vinerie – wine bars – where you can also order a substantial snack (known as a marenda sinoira). Bars and clubs 78
1870 Huntsman Pub Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 43/D. A sprawling British-style establishment offering a clubby atmosphere and a full menu. Open daily from lunchtime till 3am.
Fluido Viale Cagni 7, Parco del Valentino. You can spend all day sunbathing and all night partying at this riverside pleasure establishment. The disco action starts at about 10.30pm and goes till dawn. Closed Mon.
named for the obelisk that adorns the piazza, out into which the tables spill in summer. Closed Sun. Magazzino di Gilgamesh Piazza Moncenisio 13/B. Birreria and coffee shop, plus an international restaurant on the third floor, with jazz, Latin, classic and rock music in the background. Closed Sun. Roar Roads Via Carlo Alberto 3. Despite the dubious name, this is a very passable pub just off Via Po that pulls in both locals and foreigners. Closed Sun. Tre Galli Via Sant’Agostino 25. Busy vineria that used to be an Agnelli (Fiat founder) hangout, with a list of some 400 local and Italian wines by the bottle or glass (for the latter, ask for a mescita a calice) as well as plates of cheeses, ham, salami and home-made grissini (breadsticks). Laid back atmosphere and tables outside on the piazza in summer. Open until 2am. Closed Sun.
Turin’s cultural life is suitably comprehensive for a place of this size. The city’s opera house, the Teatro Regio (T 011.881.5241/2, W www.teatroregio.torino.it), is one of the best in the country and is recognizable from its pod-like Seventies architecture, while the Teatro Stabile (T 011.516.9460, W www.teatrostabiletorino.it), one of Italy’s principal publicly funded theatre companies, is acclaimed for its productions of major works by nineteenth- and twentieth-century European playwrights; performances are normally at the Carignano Theatre on Piazza Carignano, though it is one of at least half a dozen theatres in the city. Turin is also home of the prestigious RAI National Symphony Orchestra (T 011.810.4653, W www.orchestrasinfonica .rai.it), which performs in the Arturo Toscanini Auditorium, in Piazza Rossaro. For most of September a major festival called MITO (T 011.442.4703, W www .mitosettembremusica.it) mixes jazz, world music, classical music and performance art at various venues in Turin and Milan. There are also four international film festivals held each year, including the Torino Film Festival (W www.torinofilmfest.org), a women’s film festival in March, and the Torino GLBT Film Festival, “Da Sodoma a Hollywood”, in April (W www.tglff.com). For what’s on listings and opening hours, check the pages of the Turin daily, La Stampa, particularly its Friday supplements. Torino Cultura in Piazza Castello at Via Garibaldi (W www.torinocultura.it) has a free ticket reservation service.
| Turin (Torino)
Entertainment
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Hiroshima Mon Amour Via Bossoli 83 T 011.317.6636, W www.hiroshimamonamour.org. Live music, alternative theatre and cabaret in a converted school near the Lingotto Centre. Cover charge depending on the event. Closed Mon. Jam Club Murazzi del Po 19. One of the best along the river, this is a slick disco under nineteenth-century brick vaults, playing house and r’n’b. Closed Mon. Jumping Jester Via Mazzini 2. Old-fashioned wooden interior with huge TV screen on which football matches are shown live. Serves a great pint of cold Caffreys or Tennants. Closed Sun. Las Rosas Via Bellezia 15. Trendy cantina-style taqueria. Drinks and tacos served until 2am to the sounds of world music. Closed Sun. Lobelix Via Corte d’Appello 15 (Piazza Savoia). Simpatico wine and cocktail bar with techno music,
Listings Bicycle rental You can rent bikes in summer at all major parks, including Parco della Colletta, Parco del Valentino, Parco della Pellerina and Parco della Mandria. Bicycle paths comprise some 40km, many along the picturesque rivers. Books and newspapers Libreria Luxembourg, Via Cesare Battisti 7, has an excellent range of British and American paperbacks and magazines. English-language newspapers can be bought from most newsagents in the city centre, in particular the one at the Porta Nuova station.
Car rental Avis, Corso Turati 37 T011.501.107; Europcar, Via Madama Cristina 72 T011.650.3603; Hertz, Via Magellano 12 T011.502.080. All these companies also have desks at the airport. Exchange Outside normal banking hours you can exchange money at Porta Nuova station (Mon–Sat 8am–8pm, Sun 10am–6pm). Football Turin’s two teams, Juventus and Torino, play on Sat and Sun afternoons at the Stadio Olimpico, Via Filadelfia 88. You can get to the stadium on Line #4 from Porta Nuova station or #10 from Porta Susa. Although Juventus has been
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voted the most popular team in Italy, most locals support the underdogs, Torino. Hospital Ospedale Molinette, Corso Bramante 88–90 T 011.633.1633; for 24hr emergency medical attention call T 5747, 118 or 113. Internet access Bu.Net, Via San Quintino 13 (daily 9am–1am; from €0.06/min). Laundries Lav@sciuga, Via San Massimo 4 and Piazza della Repubblica 5. Markets In addition to Porta Palazzo/Piazza della Repubblica, and the weekly Balôn and monthly Gran Balôn markets behind Porta Palazzo,
there’s often heavily discounted designer fashion (the genuine thing, from end-of-line clearances) at the Crocetta market around Via Cassini and Via Marco Polo (Tues–Fri mornings & all day Sat) – not exactly street-market prices, but still much cheaper than in the shops. Pharmacist Boniscontro, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 66, is open all night. Police City police station at Corso XI Febbraio 22; T113. Post office The central post office is at Via Alfieri 10 (Mon–Fri 8.30am–7pm, Sat 8.30am–1pm).
The Susa and Chisone valleys
| The Susa and Chisone valleys
The main route to France from Turin runs through the Susa Valley, passing near the region’s main ski resorts. You go through long tunnels most of the way, so don’t expect to see much. The one real sight to spot is the Sacra di San Michele, a forbidding fortified abbey anchored atop a rocky hill; it’s an easy day-trip from Turin. Susa itself, reached by a minor branch of the rail line, was once a modest Roman town and is now a modest provincial town – a pleasant stopover but with little else to lure you.
Sacra di San Michele One of the closest towns to the Sacra di San Michele (mid-March to mid-Oct Tues–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm, Sun 9.30am–noon & 2.40–6.30pm; July–Sept also open Mon, same hours; mid-Oct to mid-March 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–5pm, Sun 9.30am–noon & 2.30–5pm; €4) is SANT’AMBROGIO, a small town at the foot of San Michele’s hill. It’s thirty minutes by train from Turin and connected with the abbey by a very steep ninety-minute hike; with your own car, however, you can drive up to the abbey from the town of AVIGLIANA. The walk is worth it, both for the views and for the opportunity to soak up the eerie atmosphere surrounding the glowering abbey. Climbing up to the abbey and hewn into the rock, a long flight of stairs – the Scalone dei Morti (Stairs of the Dead) – sets a morbid tone, for it was here that corpses used to be laid out for local peasants to come and pay their respects. The sinister ambiance is augmented by the abbey buildings proper, from the Romanesque entrance arch carved with signs of the zodiac to the Gothic-Romanesque abbey church.
Susa
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Some 25km up the valley from Sant’Ambrogio, SUSA is a likeable, rather scruffy old town. The tourist office (IAT) is at Corso Inghilterra 39 (T 0122.622.447). There are a few hotels, such as the Du Parc, Via Rocchetta 15 (T 0122.622.273, W www .hotelduparcsusa.com; 2 ), or the Napoleon, Via Mazzini 44 (T 0122.622.855, W www.hotelnapoleon.it; 3 ), which can be used as a base for exploring the area. In ancient days when the Romans ruled most of Italy, Susa and western Piemonte remained in the hands of the Celts. The best-known of its Celtic leaders, Cottius, was much admired by the Romans, with whom he reached a peaceful arrangement, and a handful of mainly Roman remains cluster around the town centre, notably in Piazza San Giusto, where there’s a redoubtable defensive gate. The adjacent cattedrale – originally Romanesque but with
Piemonte’s ski resorts
| The Susa and Chisone valleys
Gothic and Baroque accretions – has a fine campanile, but its most interesting features are the external frescoes – a Crucifixion and an Entry into Jerusalem. Just above the piazza, Cottius erected the Arco di Augusto in honour of the Roman emperor, its top decorated with a processional frieze. Look through its broad arched opening frames for views down into a small park laid out around the remains of some Roman baths. In the opposite direction, southeast, at the end of the Chisone Valley, PINEROLO was one of the Winter Olympics 2006 sites and is worth a short stop. It’s a small town with a medieval centre that was once the seat of the Acaja princedom, erstwhile rivals to the House of Savoy. It’s no longer possible to visit their palace, slowly deteriorating halfway up the hill, but you can visit the church of San Maurizio, burial place of the Acaja princes, decorated with fifteenthcentury frescoes.
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Close to the French border, Piemonte’s main, purpose-built ski areas – Claviere, Cesana, Sestriere, Sansicario, Sauze d’Oulx and Bardonecchia – are well used by British tour operators and, as hosts of the alpine events of the Winter Olympics 2006, have all had their facilities recently upgraded. Moreover, they now collectively constitute some 400km of interconnected runs, more than 200 in all, known as La Vialattea (The Milky Way; W www.vialattea.it). You can gain access from Pragelato, thanks to the cableway Pattemouche-Anfiteatro. One daily lift-pass for all five resorts is €34. Sestriere was the dream resort of Fiat baron, Gianni Agnelli, who conceived it as an aristocratic mountain retreat, favoured by the young and the beautiful. Nowadays, the reality is a bland resort dominated by two cylindrical towers, both owned by Club Med. The mountain, however, is impeccable: the choice for World Cup and Olympic downhill races. Modern Bardonecchia – unlike the others, not directly connected to the Milky Way, though part of the same grouping of facilities – is a weekenders’ haunt, with small chalet-style hotels. Sauze d’Oulx, a little way south, is generally known as the “Benidorm of the Alps”, attracting hordes of youngsters who treat skiing as a hangover cure – though it isn’t so bad that it doesn’t also attract its share of families.
The Chisone Valley Taking the parallel Chisone Valley to the south back towards Turin, you will encounter a much more bucolic and less developed area, dotted along the way with small towns. If you don’t have your own transport, you can take one of the buses that regularly service almost all the towns along the way. The picturesque slate-roofed hamlet of USSEAUX is worth discovering, its weather-worn old walls decorated with colourful murals. For lunch, the Trattoria La Placette (T 0121.83073; closed Thurs Sept–May), behind the church and on the village’s edge overlooking the valley, is equipped with a sunny porch on which you can partake of hearty pastas, game, and mountain cheeses. Not far away, at an altitude of nearly 2000m, the impressive Forte di Fenestrelle ( July & Aug daily 10am–noon & 2.30–6pm; rest of year Thurs–Mon 10am–noon & 2.30–6pm; T 0121.83.600 for tour reservations; €2), known as “The Great Wall of Piemonte”, has been restored and is now a significant regional attraction. It constitutes a gigantic fortified castle and dependent buildings, along with an adjoining massive 3km rampart marching over the mountain. Built by the Savoys from 1728, it took some 122 years to complete, its purpose being to
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| Saluzzo and the Po Valley 82
halt enemy invasions. Simply put, it’s the largest defensive structure ever built in Europe. Much of the wall’s length can now be visited, and the longest guided tour (€12) takes you up all of the 4000 steps and back, a strenuous seven-hour trek. If you’re tempted to spend some time in this idyllic area, note that one of the most welcoming accommodation options is the Bella Baita, Borgata Serre Marchetto, 1 Pinasca, an inn nestled amid a panoramic mountain forest high above the valley’s villages (T 339.750.3940 or 347.984.2945, W www.bellabaita .com; 2 ). The hosts are very welcoming and knowledgeable about the area, and they are trained professional chefs; a hearty breakfast is included, and half-board is also available.
Saluzzo and the Po Valley A flourishing medieval town, and later the seat of one of Piemonte’s few Renaissance courts, SALUZZO, 57km south of Turin, retains much of its period appeal. Flaking ochre-washed terraces and Renaissance houses line cobbled streets that climb up to a castle, from where you can enjoy views of the town. A pleasant place to stay, the town has the added attraction of regular bus services into the Po, Varaita and Maira valleys, which cut through the foothills of the Monviso mountain towards France.
The Town There are a few things around town worth seeing. Just below the castle, the Torre Civica (March–Sept Thurs–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; Oct–Feb Sat & Sun same hours; €1.50, combined ticket with Museo Civico €5) gives more great views over the town and surrounding areas. On the other side of the road, the Gothic church of San Giovanni has a number of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century frescoes and the tomb of the leading light of Renaissance Saluzzo, Marchese Ludovico II, anachronistically depicted as a medieval knight beneath a fancily carved canopy. Close by, the Gothic Casa Cavassa, Via San Giovanni 5, is a fifteenth-century palace with an arcaded courtyard that doubled as a home for one of Ludovico’s ministers and now houses the town’s Museo Civico (April–Sept Tues & Wed guided tours only, at 11am & 4pm, Thurs–Sun unaccompanied visits 10am–1pm & 2–6pm; Oct–March Tues & Wed guided tours only, at 11am & 3pm, Thurs–Sun unaccompanied visits 10am–1pm & 2–5pm; €4.50, combined ticket with Torre Civica €5). Inside are period furniture and paintings, including the gorgeously gilded Madonna della Misericordia, with the Madonna sheltering Ludovico, his wife and the population of Saluzzo in the folds of her cloak. That’s about all there is to the town centre, but just to the south of Saluzzo, a five-minute bus ride from outside the train station, there’s the Castello della Manta – a medieval fortress that was transformed into a refined residence in the fifteenth century (Tues–Sun 10am–5/6pm; €5, including audioguide). Though from the outside it’s as plain and austere as Saluzzo’s castle, it’s worth visiting for the evocative late-Gothic frescoes in the Baronial Hall. One of these illustrates the myth of the fountain of youth, elderly people processing towards the magical waters while others impatiently rip off their clothes to plunge in. The other, Nine Heroes and Nine Heroines, depicts chivalrous courtiers and exquisite damsels standing beneath stylized trees with coats of arms hanging from the branches.
Practicalities
The Po Valley
| Alba and Le Langhe
West of Saluzzo, close to the French border, lies the source of the River Po, which flows right across industrial northern Italy, gathering the waste from thousands of factories before finally discharging into the Adriatic. Towards the end of the valley is the alpine-style resort of CRISSOLO, served by 2 to 4 buses daily from Paesana, further down the valley, which in turn is served by buses from Saluzzo. From Crissolo you can hike 5km (or take a minibus in summer) to the Pian del Re, a grassy plain around the source of the Po, for a view of one of the passes legend claims Hannibal and his elephants used. Crissolo is also a good base for climbing Monviso (3841m), Piemonte’s highest mountain; it’s a long (about six hours) rocky scramble from the Quintino Sella rifugio (see below), two to three hours beyond the Pian del Re. Even if you don’t want to scale the summit, the walk to the rifugio is lovely, passing a series of mountain lakes; or, if you prefer, it’s possible to do a circuit of the lakes, turning off the main trail just before Lago Chiaretto, from where a path leads past Lago Superiore and back to Pian del Re. Crissolo has a couple of average hotels open all year round: the Monviso, Piazza Umberto I 153 (T 0175.94.940, E
[email protected]; 3 ), and the Polo Nord, Via Provinciale 22 (T 347.958.9979; 2 ). The Quintino Sella rifugio, near the Lago Grande del Viso, is open at Easter and from June 20 to September 20, and sometimes in winter; it’s advisable to phone in advance (T 0175.94.943). The majority of restaurants are in the hotels, so you may find it both practical and economical to opt for half- or full-board.
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Saluzzo’s tourist office, Piazza Risorgimento 1 (April–Sept Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 3–6.30pm; Oct–March Tues–Sun 10am–12.30pm & 3–6pm; T 0175.46.710, W www.saluzzoturistica.it), can provide information on the whole of the western valleys region. Among the town’s hotels, the cheapest is the Persico, Vicolo Mercati 10 (T 0175.41.213, W www.albergopersico.net; 2 ), which also has a very good restaurant serving traditional cuisine (closed Mon); or there is the modern, threestar Griselda, Corso XXVII Aprile 13 (T 0175.47.484, W www.hotelgriselda.it; 4 ), as well as the charmingly rustic, full-service Agriturismo Camisassi, Via Torino 75 (T 0175.479.091, W www.agriturismocamisassi.it; 2 ). If you want to eat in the old town, try the atmospheric Taverna di Porti Scur (closed all day Mon & Tues lunch, plus second half of August), Via Volta 14, featuring regional dishes, with full meals starting at about €20.
Alba and Le Langhe The town of Alba and the surrounding Le Langhe hills have come to signify two things to the Italians: white truffles and red wine. The exquisite truffles are more delicate and aromatic than the black variety found further south, whereas most of the area’s very different wines all come from the same grape, the Nebbiolo. The final taste is dependent on the soil: sandy soil produces the grapes for the light red Nebbiolo; calcium and mineral-rich soil for the more robust Barolo, the “King of Italian Reds”. In the hill-villages around Alba, there are a number of wine museums and cantinas, the best being those at Barolo. Although the big cantinas all sell wine, you’ll get a better deal at one of the smaller family-owned establishments scattered around the region; ask at the tourist office for one of the excellent
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free maps and suggestions for wine tours. Buses from Alba are rather infrequent, so your own transport is best.
Alba PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Alba and Le Langhe
Whether or not you want to taste the extraordinary wines, ALBA is worth the visit for its alluring mix of red-brick medieval towers, Baroque and Renaissance palaces and cobbled streets lined with gastronomic shops. And if you come in October, you might catch the town’s hilarious annual donkey race – a skit on nearby Asti’s prestigious Palio. The town’s only sight as such is its late-Gothic Duomo, standing confectionery pink on the central Piazza Risorgimento. But Alba is primarily a place to stroll and eat. Leading up to the centre from Piazza Savona, the main drag of Via Vittorio Emanuele is a fine, bustling street, with the most tempting of Alba’s local produce on display – wines, truffles, cheeses, weird and wonderful mushroom varieties, and the wickedly sticky nocciola, a nutty, chocolatey cake. Via Cavour is a pleasant medieval street with plenty of wine shops, behind which the donkey race and displays of medieval pageantry attract the crowds during the festival at the beginning of October. There’s also an annual truffle festival later in the month, when you could blow your whole budget on a knobbly truffle or a meal in one of the many swanky restaurants. At the end of April/beginning of May, the Vinum festival gives you the chance to taste five hundred local wines. Practicalities
The tourist office (April to mid-Nov Mon–Fri 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am–1.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; mid-Nov to March Mon–Fri 10am–1pm & 2–6pm; T 0173.35.833, W www.langheroero.it), at Piazza Risorgimento 2, has a free reservation service if you want to stay. You could try the simple and very welcoming Cortiletto d’Alba, Corso M. Coppino 27 (T 0173.366.005, W www .cortilettodalba.com; 3 ), which also offers full meals: lunch special €8.50, dinner tasting-menu €15; or the Savona, a rather smart three-star at Via Roma 1, offering adjacent parking for €6 per night (T 0173.440.440, W www.hotelsavona.com; 5 ). You’ll need to plan ahead to be sure of a room, especially during the October festivals. To sample the finest of Albese cooking, book the atmospheric and expensive A Enoclub, in medieval wine cellars at Piazza Savona 4 (T 0173.33.994; tasting menu €40; closed Mon), which offers Slow Food perfection and flawless service; on the ground floor is the more modestly priced Caffè Umberto, with seating on the piazza. For wine by the glass as well as excellent local dishes, try A Vincafe, Via Vittorio Emanuele 12 (T 0173.364.603), which also puts on a lavish complimentary buffet at aperitivo time.
Barolo
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The entire picturesque area is dotted with attractive hill-towns, castles and wineries. A few kilometres south of Alba, in the heart of Le Langhe, perhaps the most famous spot is BAROLO, which gives its name to one of the premier Italian wines. It’s a small village with peach- and ochre-washed houses set among extensive vineyards, and it’s always geared up for the steady stream of wealthy gastronomes and wine connoisseurs who invariably come here for the Enoteca Regionale del Barolo, housed in a turreted castle on Piazza Falletti 1 (Fri–Wed 10am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm; T 0173.56.277, W www.baroloworld.it). If you want to indulge yourself and stay a while, consider the Hotel Barolo, Via Lomondo 2 (T 0173.56.354, W www.hotelbarolo.it; 3 ), featuring rooms with views and a renowned family-run restaurant, Brezza, offering the very finest local cuisine.
Asti
Asti’s tourist office is at Piazza Alfieri 29 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm, Sun 9am–1pm; T 0141.530.357, W www.astiturismo.it). If you’re intending to visit Asti on the Palio weekend, book a room well in advance; at other times there should be little problem. The best of the affordable options are the conveniently sited Cavour at Piazza Marconi 18 (T 0141.530.222, W www.hotelcavour-asti.com; 2) and the slightly cheaper Genova, Corso Alessandria 26 (T 0141.593.197; 2 ). Renowned for its food, Asti has a wide choice of restaurants, ranging from basic and cheap pizzerias like Monna Laura, Via Cavour 30 (T 0141.594.159; closed Mon), to the excellent and rather pricey Gener Neuv, Lungo Tanaro dei Pescatori 4 (T 0141.557.270; closed Sun dinner & Mon), which serves delicious local cuisine. If you’re into Asti Spumante or want to sample other wines from the region, come during the wine festival, the Douja d’Or, which is held from the second Friday to the third Sunday in September, with tastings in the Palazzo del Collegio from early evening until midnight. The rest of the year, you can always try the Tre Bicchieri, Piazza Statuto 37, an extremely wellstocked and fashionable wine bar.
| Asti • Northern Piemonte
Practicalities
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Some 30km northeast of Alba, the wine continues to flow in ASTI, the capital of Italy’s sparkling wine industry and the most famous producer of spumante. Each September, this small, averagely attractive town becomes the focus of attention as it gears up for its Palio. Though it’s taken nothing like as seriously as Siena’s famous pageant and race, and has been revived to some extent for tourists, you should make an effort to see it if you’re near here at the right time. On the day of the race itself, the third Sunday in September, there’s a thousand-strong procession of citizens dressed as their fourteenth-century ancestors, before the frenetic bare-backed horse race around Piazza Alfieri – followed by the awarding of the palio (banner) to the winner and all-night feasting and boozing. The rest of the year, the piazza and the former Palio site, the Campo del Palio, together host the region’s largest open-air market (Wed & Sat). The arcaded Piazza Alfieri is officially the centre of town, behind which is the Collegiata di San Secondo (daily 8.30am–noon & 3.30–5.30pm; free), a brick basilica with origins in the ninth century, dedicated to the city’s patron saint and built on the site of the saint’s martyrdom in the second century. Secondo, a Roman officer of the patrician class, who converted to Christianity, was beheaded on March 29 in 119 AD, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. The main street, Corso Alfieri, slices through the town from Piazza Alfieri, to the east of which lies the church of San Pietro at Corso Alfieri 2 (Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 3/4–6/7pm). At the other end of the Corso is the Torre Rossa, a medieval tower with a red-and-white chequered brick top, built on the remains of the sixteen-sided Roman tower in which San Secondo was imprisoned and tortured before his martyrdom.
Northern Piemonte The main attraction of northern Piemonte is the mountains, especially the dramatic Alpine Valsesia, which winds up to the foot of Monte Rosa on the Swiss border. On the way is one of the region’s most visited sanctuaries, the Santuario di Oropa near Biella. From here you’re well poised for either Piemonte’s mountains or those of Valle d’Aosta, a few kilometres west. Worth a slight detour is the magical train ride that starts at Domodossola, conveniently en route if you’re heading for Switzerland.
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Biella and around
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Asti • Northern Piemonte
The sizeable but bland northern-Piemonte city of Novara is a useful transport hub but otherwise not really worth a stop. In passing through, you’ll note that its central basilica, San Gaudenzio, has a striking tower, rather resembling a 122-metre Neoclassical cucumber. On a clear day the Alps, to which this city is a gateway (along with the Italian Lakes; see Chapter 3), make a stupendous backdrop. Otherwise, the area is mostly dominated by rice fields, soaking wet and heavily mosquito-infested in the warm months. A short train ride northwest from Novara brings you to the provincial capital of BIELLA, known for its wool industry, its periphery studded with nineteenth-century industrial chimneys and the hilltop upper town with the mansions and villas of wool barons. Its small medieval quarter, reached by funicular, is worth a visit – and it gives access to the Santuario di Oropa (daily 8am–noon & 2–7pm; free, €3 for the museum), about 11km northwest of Biella to the foot of Monte Mucrone (bus #2 from the train station; 40min). According to tradition, it was founded in the fourth century by St Eusebio to house a black statue of the Madonna and Child. It’s the most venerated of Piemonte’s shrines, the old basilica being its spiritual centre. The sanctuary is a good starting-point for walks into the surrounding mountains, and a cable car runs regularly up Monte Mucrone from the sanctuary as far as the mountain refuge Albergo Savoia (T 015.849.5131; half-board 2 ), which offers traditional food and basic accommodation by a small mountain lake, Lago Mucrone. A network of marked trails begins here: one of the nicest and easiest is the Passeggiata dei Preti, a level path offering good views of the sanctuary. More energetic is the hike up to the summit of Monte Mucrone itself – a two-hour trek. If you wish, you can stay at the sanctuary, which has around 350 refurbished accommodation options: tourist, comfort, junior suite and suite (T 015.2555.1200, W www.santuariodioropa.it; 1 ). Biella’s tourist office is at Piazza Vittorio Veneto 3 (Mon–Fri 8.30am– 1pm & 2.30–6pm, Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–5.30pm; May–Sept also Sun 9am–12.30pm & 2.30–5.30pm; T 015.351.128, W www.atl.biella.it). If you need to stay overnight, try the clean and attractive Bugella, Via Cottolengo 65 (T 015.406.607, W www.hotelbugella.it; 3 ). And check out La Baracca at Via San Eusebio 12 (T 015.21941; closed Sat & Sun & mid-June to mid-July), a bar in a converted nineteenth-century factory building that serves authentic Piemonte meals for about €18; don’t overlook the appealing antipasto buffet. Otherwise, La Civetta, at Piazza Cucco 10/B (T 015.26342; dinner only; closed Tues & Wed), turns out simple regional and Italian fare for €20–25.
Ivrea
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IVREA, to the north of Turin, is well worth a visit in the week leading up to Shrove Tuesday, when there’s a carnival – featuring piping, drumming, masked balls, historic processions and fireworks – that culminates in a bizarre three-day “Battle of the Oranges” when the whole town and hundreds of spectators turn out to pelt each other with oranges – you have to wear a red hat if you don’t want to be a target. At the end of each day, the town is covered in a thick carpet of orange pulp, and the following morning there’s a traditional handing out of polenta and cod. For a place to stay, try the Aquila Nera, Corso Nigra 56 (T 0125.641.416, W www.aquilanera.it; half- and full board available; 2 ), or head 3km northeast out of town to Chiaverano for four-star Castello San Giuseppe (T 0125.424.370, W www.castellosangiuseppe.it; 6 ), set in a converted Carmelite monastery.
Valsesia
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Asti • Northern Piemonte
Heading on into the northern heights, the main road follows the River Sesia to the foot of multi-peaked Monte Rosa, whose massive bulk dominates four Italian valleys and spreads north into Switzerland. VALSESIA, the easternmost valley, is also the most dramatic and has been dubbed “Italy’s Greenest Valley” – it’s worth going for the ride even if you don’t want to launch a hiking or skiing assault on the mountains. Flanked by dark pine-wooded slopes topped with a toothed ridge of rock, the road winds up the valley, the perspective changing at every turn. ALAGNA, at the head of the valley, right below Monte Rosa, is the most convenient place to stay, whether you want to ski or hike. Popular and predominantly modern, it has a cluster of traditional dwellings of the age-old Swiss religious sect known as the Walsers, who have maintained their unique language and culture here for at least seven centuries. Some of the houses still function as farms, with hay hanging to dry on the slats and wood stacked behind, while others are holiday homes, with geraniums tumbling from window boxes. The tourist office ( Jan–Sept & Dec Mon & Wed–Fri 9am–noon & 3–6pm, Sat & Sun 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; Oct & Nov Sat & Sun only; T 0163.922.993, W www .alagna.it) is at Piazza Grober 1. Alagna’s cheapest three-star hotel is the Genzianella, Via Centro 33 (T 0163.923.205, W www.pensionegenzianella.com; 2 ). There are lots of walks among the foothills near Alagna, all of which are well marked. However, the toughest and most spectacular hikes are those on Monte Rosa itself. It’s possible to save time and energy by taking the cable car up to the Indren glaciers (3260m), from where you can walk to one of the many rifugi; most of these are open from June to September and some are open all year, but check at the tourist office in Alagna before setting out. All these walks involve a good deal of scree-crossing and some sobering drops, and none is to be taken lightly – you’ll need a good map (the IGC map of the four Monte Rosa valleys shows all paths, rifugi and pistes, as does the Kompass Monte Rosa map), available in Alagna and Varallo, and you should monitor the weather carefully. There’s also an ambitious long-distance circuit of Monte Rosa, starting at Alagna and taking in Zermatt across the Swiss border: reckon on five days if you make use of ski lifts and cable cars, and a good deal longer if you don’t. Skiing in the area is organized by Monterosa Ski (T 0125.303.111, W www .monterosa-ski.com), which has an office in Alagna, and equipment is available for rent in the village. The valleys here are also popular for canoeing and rafting, and several centres organize classes and excursions – try Hidronica (T 0163.735.301, W www.hidronica.com). Check W www.alagna.it for more information on summer and winter activities in and around Alagna.
Domodossola and over the border At the foot of the Simplon Pass, and handily situated on the main train line between Milan and Bern, in Switzerland (15 trains daily from Novara), is the little town of DOMODOSSOLA. With its arcaded medieval centre and market square, it warrants a visit in its own right, but is more famous as the starting point of a scenic train ride, La Vigezzina–Centovalli, that connects Domodossola with Locarno, across the border in Switzerland, taking in the vineyards and chestnut forests of the Val Vigezzo and Centovalli along the way. The scenery is gorgeous, and, although the ride is pricier than the regular train (one way €19.80), it’s well worth it; InterRail passes are valid. The journey to Locarno takes an hour and a half, but you can get off and explore at any of the pretty flower-strewn stations en route; when you want the next train to stop, just remember to raise the red-andwhite signal on the platform.
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The road to Aosta and the eastern valleys PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| The road to Aosta and the eastern valleys 88
The tributary valleys in eastern Valle d’Aosta (W www.regione.vda.it) have suffered most from the skiing industry since they are the easiest to access from Turin and Milan and therefore the most frequented. However, hiking is good here, and experienced mountaineers may be lured by the challenge of climbing Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn from Valtournenche. For all visitors, in the main Aosta Valley you’ll find one of the region’s more interesting castles, Fénis.
Valtournenche and the Matterhorn (Cervino) VALTOURNENCHE, headed by the Matterhorn (4478m) at the north end and by the town of Chatillon at the southern central valley end, should be one of the most spectacular of Italy’s mountain valleys, but unfortunately the main towns are overdeveloped and hydroelectric works ruin the views on the plains. The international ski resort Breuil-Cervinia is a functional, modern resort, and even the Matterhorn is a letdown, with tribes of skiers ensuring that its glacier is grubby for much of the year. That said, these are the Alps, and if you can’t manage to carry on to the other valleys further west, you will at least get a taste of chocolate-box chalets and flower-covered meadows straight out of Heidi. Breuil-Cervinia and the Matterhorn
BREUIL-CERVINIA was one of Italy’s first ski resorts, built in the prewar years as part of Mussolini’s drive for a healthy nation. In its heyday the ski lifts, soaring to 3500m, broke all records, and its grand hotels ensured the patronage of Europe’s wealthy. Today the wealthy are cossetted in modern buildings outside the resort, leaving the tacky streets of the town for packaged hordes attracted by a large skiing area with lots of easy runs. If you want to climb the Matterhorn (4478m) you should seriously consider approaching from Zermatt in Switzerland; the Italian route is strictly for experts.
Nus and the Castello di Fénis Further up the main valley from Chatillon and overlooked by a ruined castle, the small, pretty village of NUS makes a good base for the Castello di Fénis 2km away (daily: March–June & Sept 9am–6.30pm; July & Aug 9am–7.30pm; Oct–Feb Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 1.30–4.30pm, Sun 10am–noon; €5, guided tours only). Backed by wooded hills and encircled by two rows of turreted walls, the castle is a fairy-tale cluster of towers decorated with scalloped arcades. These defences were primarily aesthetic, with the real job of protecting the valley being left to the less prettified fortresses of nearby Nus and Quart. Meanwhile, the Fénis branch of the Challant counts concentrated on refining their living quarters with fine Gothic frescoes; the best of these is in the courtyard, above the elaborate twin staircase that leads to the upper storeys. A courtly St George rescues a damsel in distress from the clutches of a tremendous dragon, overlooked by a tribe of protective saints brandishing moral maxims on curling scrolls. There’s a hotel in Fénis – La Chatelaine (T 0165.764.264, E lachatelaine@media vallee.it; 3 ), in Località Chez Sapin, open year-round. However, as Nus has a train station and is close to the main road for buses, you may find it more convenient to sleep there: the Florian at Via Risorgimento 3 (T &F 0165.767.968; 2 , breakfast extra) has clean and comfortable doubles and is also open all year.
Aosta and around PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
AOSTA, the attractive mountain-valley capital of Valle d’Aosta province, is an ideal base for exploring the northwest of the region. Surrounded by the Alps, the town’s key attraction is its position, with access to the lovely valleys of the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, the ski resorts of Mont Blanc and a sprinkling of castles in between. Founded by the Romans in 25 BC Aosta was primarily an imperial military camp, vestiges of which can be seen in the extensive ruins of some towers and city walls. Remains of medieval Aosta predominate, its narrow cobbled streets and overhanging upper storeys giving the place a very alpine air.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Hotels
solid, if unimaginative, comfort. Located on the less busy side of town, on its own quiet cul-de-sac. Parking nearby. 3
Bus Via Malherbes 18/A T 0165.43.645, W www.hotelbus.it. This bland high-rise offers
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& Campsite (Roppoz)
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VIA TORIN C
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Chairlift
'ANSELM
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Torre Pailleron
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STAZ
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DO REY
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ORIA PIAZZA E. RTA PRET CHANOUX VIA PO
VIA CON
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VIA
Teatro Romano
VIA G UI
Basilica di S. Lorenzo Torre Fromage
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ACCOMMODATION Bus B Le Pageot D Milleluci A Turin C
Cattedrale
PIAZZA PAPA GIOVANNI XXIII
À DI CITT
VIA D’AVISE
PIAZZA DELLA REPUBBLICA
Foro Romano
GE VIA DU BAILLA
SO LA RO
DICE
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Anfiteatro
V I A S . G I O CO ND O
CE VIA CRO
TE VI A M ON
VIA MONTE VO
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IA
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Museo Archeologico Regionale
PIAZZA RONCAS
VIALE CHABOD
DE MAIS
IN ET VIA MA RT
FE BBRA IO VIA XXVI
1 5 2 4 3 A
IER V IA X AV
P VIA
EATING & DRINKING Grotta Azzurra La Cave Nazionale Osteria dell’Oca The Old Distillery Pub
VI A ROMA
I ARIG
| Aosta and around
You can get to most places within the region by bus from the bus station on Via G. Carrel, but some of the more remote valleys are served only by buses running at school times out of season (contact tourist office for seasonal timetables). The train station is on Piazza Manzetti, south of the centre. Aosta’s tourist office (daily 9am–1pm & 3–8pm; until 6.30pm out of season; April–May closed Sun; T 0165.236.627, W www.regione.vda.it) is at Piazza E. Chanoux 2. Surprisingly, there’s not much choice of accommodation in Aosta: mostly stripped-down, modern ski resort-type structures and not a super-abundance of rooms, so be sure to book early.
RA VI A PARAVE
0
200 m
89
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Aosta and around 90
Le Pageot Via G. Carrel 31 T 0165.32.433, W www.lepageot.info. Handy for both train and bus stations, it also has easy parking and is close to all the sights. Rooms are simple, pleasant and well appointed. 3 Turin Via Torino 14 T 0165.44.593, W www.hotelturin.it. Most centrally located, but starkly modern outside in an almost pre-fab style, and the rooms tend to be quite spartan. Nevertheless, the views of the encircling
mountains can be spectacular, so ask for one on an upper floor. 3
Campsite Milleluci Località Porossan-Roppoz 15 T 0165.44.274, W www.campingmilleluci.com. Of the several campsites nearby, this is the nearest, just 1km from the historic centre. Set amid mountain views and greenery, with a lodge offering meals and services.
The Town The large, elegant Piazza E. Chanoux and its pavement cafés form the centre of town, from where Via Porta Pretoria and Via Sant’Anselmo lead east – the principal streets for window-shopping and people-watching. In the middle, the Porta Pretoria is one of the town’s most impressive sights: two parallel triplearched gateways that served as the main entrance into the Roman town. North of the gate is the Teatro Romano (daily 9am–1hr before sunset; free); an elegant section of the four-storeyed facade remains, 22m high and pierced with arched windows. Evidence suggests that this Roman theatre was one of the few that was originally roofed. A short walk east of here, outside the main town walls off Via Sant’Anselmo, the church of Sant’Orso (daily: March–Sept 9am–7pm; Oct–Feb 10am–12.30pm & 1.30–4.30pm) houses a number of tenth-century frescoes behind its dull facade. They’re hidden up in the roof where you can examine them at close quarters from specially constructed walkways – though you’ll need to find the sacristan to get up there. If you can’t find him, content yourself with the fifteenth-century choir stalls, carved with a menagerie of holy men and animals, ranging from bats and monkeys to a tonsured monk. There are even better carvings on the capitals of the Romanesque cloisters (daily: March–June & Sept 9am–7pm; July & Aug 9am–8pm; Oct–Feb 10am–12.30pm & 1.30–5pm) – mostly scenes from the story of Christ. At the far end of Via Sant’Anselmo, the Arco di Augusto was erected in 25 BC to honour the Emperor Augustus, after whom the town was named Augusta Praetoria (Aosta is a corruption of Augusta). Though the arch loses something in being stranded in a sea of traffic and topped by a rustic eighteenth-century slate roof, it’s a sturdy, dignified-looking monument. Beyond is a well-preserved Roman bridge, its single arch spanning the now dried-up bed of the River Buthier. On the other side of town, the Foro Romano on Piazza Giovanni XXIII is now represented mostly by a vaulted passage (cryptoporticus) built under the forum area; such constructions were common enough in Roman forums, probably serving as protected walkways. Nearby, the Museo Archeologico Regionale (daily 9am–6.30pm; free) has interesting exhibits on the settlements in and around Aosta since Neolithic times. Displays include artefacts of the Celtic Salassi tribe who ended up being sold as slaves by the Romans. The nearby cattedrale (April–Sept Mon–Sat 6.30am–noon & 3–8pm, Sun 7am–noon & 3–8pm; Oct–March closes an hour earlier) looks unpromising from the outside, but masks a Gothic interior with more fantastically carved choir stalls, this time sporting a mermaid, a lion and a snail nestled among the saints. Like Sant’Orso, too, it has some impressive tenth-century frescoes hidden in the roof, saved for posterity by the lowering of the ceiling in the fourteenth century; you can visit these on a guided tour (several daily; €7.80).
Eating and drinking
vaulted, was the chapel. Come for the all-youcan-eat lunchtime buffet (€18) in the town's most fascinating café. Closed Mon. Osteria dell’Oca Via E. Aubert 15A T 0165.231.419. On a quiet little square, local cuisine here includes pizzas, all topped with fresh ingredients; about €25 for a full meal. Closed Mon. The Old Distillery Pub Via Près Fosses 7. Tucked away down a narrow side-alley, this place offers a very welcoming and energetic after-dark scene, especially for, but not limited to, the Anglophone crowd. Pub food available. Open evenings only, till 2am.
West of Aosta: Castello di Sarre West from Aosta, the main valley holds a number of castles, the best of which is the thirteenth-century Castello di Sarre ( July & Aug daily 9am–7.30pm; May, June & Sept daily 9am–6.30pm; Oct–Feb Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 1.30–4.30pm, Sun till 5.30pm; March & April Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 1.30–5pm, Sun till 6pm; €5), accessible by bus or train from Aosta, some 5km away. It’s a ten-minute walk up a hill covered with apple orchards from the St Maurice-Sarre train station; coming by bus, walk from the bus stop up the main road and take the unmarked turning just before the tollbooth. Sarre is the former hunting lodge of Vittorio Emanuele II, who, the story goes, actually bought the castle by mistake. He had set his sights on the property of Aymaville opposite, but the agent sent to buy the castle was confused about the direction in which the river flowed, and ended up buying Sarre instead. The king made the best of a bad job, permanently stamping the halls of the castle with his astounding taste in interior decor, pushing the hunting-lodge motif to its limits, with horns of wild ibex lining the main gallery and thousands of white chamois skulls studding the stuccoed festoons. Pride of place is given to the first ibex slain by the king.
| Aosta and around
Grotta Azzurra Via Croce di Città 97 T 0165.262.474. Pizza, pasta and good Italian side dishes keep this place filled to the brim with animated diners. Expect €15 a head. Closed Wed. La Cave Via Challand 34 T 0165.44.164. Select wines in a simpatico setting, this is the dining and drinking adjunct to the valley’s oldest enoteca. Full meals of cold cuts or just a glass of over fifty wines on offer alla mescita each week, chosen from some 800 labels. Very popular in the early evening. Nazionale Piazza Chanoux 9 T0165.262.158. Located under the arcades, part of which constituted a former convent; the main room, round and
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Being foremost a resort town, finding a congenial place to eat or drink here is no problem. There’s a full range of food on offer, from snacks to Italian to French to local mountain fare, and a range of prices, as well. Via E. Aubert and Via Porta Pretoria are best for a trawl.
North of Aosta: Colle di Gran San Bernardo Immediately north of Aosta, the Colle di Gran San Bernardo (2473m) leads the way into Switzerland. Named after the famous monastery that for centuries provided shelter to travellers on the main pilgrim route from Northern Europe to Rome, it was the home of the eponymous big brown-and-white dogs that rescued Alpine travellers in distress. The history of the mountain pass is well documented in the museum ( June–Sept daily 9am–6pm; €5) housed in the monastery-hospice, although you’ll need your passport to visit as it’s situated just over the border in Switzerland. The spectacular pass is open only during summer, but the border is open year-round by way of a tunnel.
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The Gran Paradiso National Park PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| The Gran Paradiso National Park
For some of the area’s most beautiful mountains and valleys, make for the south, down to the Parco Nazionale del Gran Paradiso, half in Piemonte and half in Valle d’Aosta (W www.pngp.it; from Piemonte access is through the village of Ceresole Reale) – Italy’s first national park, spread around the valleys at the foot of 4061m-high Monte Gran Paradiso. The park’s three valleys – Cogne, Valsavarenche and Val di Rhêmes – are popular, but tourist development has been cautious and well organized. The hotels are good (you get far more for your money than you would in one of the nearby towns) and the campsites not too vast – camping outside of campsites is not permitted. There are a few mountain rifugi and bivacchi (unoccupied shelters) between which run well-marked footpaths. Though it’s primarily a summer resort for walkers, the cross-country skiing is also good, and every winter a 45-kilometre Gran Paradiso trek is organized at Cogne (contact the tourist office in Cogne for details). The starting-point for the ascent of Gran Paradiso itself is Pont in the Valsavarenche, while Cogne gives access to the Alta Via 2, a long, high-level mountain trail. Regular buses run throughout the year from Aosta to Cogne and Valsavarenche, and along the Val di Rhêmes from mid-June to mid-September (see p.94). If you’re using your own transport, access to either of these valleys is easiest from the village of Introd, about 2km from Villeneuve, which is on the main bus route.
Val di Cogne The Val di Cogne is the principal, most popular and most dramatic section of the park. Its lower reaches are narrow, the road running above the fast-flowing Grand Eyvia River overlooked by sheer wavy-ridged mountains. Further on, the valley broadens out around the main village, COGNE, which is surrounded by gentle green meadows with glacier-covered mountains rising beyond. The tourist office, in the centre of town at Via Bourgeois 34 (daily 9am–12.30pm & 3–5.30/6pm; T 0165.74.040, W www.cogne.org), has maps with descriptions in English of walks, one of which is an easy, scenic stroll that follows the river, with the glaciers in view for most of the way. Before leaving the village of Cogne, it’s worth visiting the Maison de Gerard Dayné ( July & Aug 6 tours daily 10.40am–6.30pm; at other times, ask at the tourist office or call T 0165.749.264; €3), a typical nineteenth-century Valdaostan house evocative of the traditional rustic lifestyle.
Park wildlife
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Gran Paradiso National Park owes its foundation to King Vittorio Emanuele II, who donated his extensive hunting park to the state in 1922, ensuring that the population of ibex that he and his hunters had managed to reduce to near extinction, would after all survive. There are now around 3500 ibex here and about 6000 chamois, living most of the year above the tree line but descending to the valleys in winter and spring. The most dramatic sightings are during the mating season in November and December, when you may see pairs of males fighting it out for possession of a female. You might also spy golden eagles nesting, and there are a number of rare alpine flowers, most of which can be seen in the botanical garden in the Val di Cogne.
Practicalities
Hotels Bellevue Rue Grand Paradis 22, Cogne T 0165.74.825, Wwww.hotelbellevue.it. Alpine ambiance, but with absolute luxury as the keynote. This is a Relais & Chateau property and boasts a world-class health and beauty spa among its many amenities. Three nights minimum. Self-contained chalets also available at about €100 per person per night for half-board. 7 Herbetet Frazione Valnontey 52 T0165.74.180, W www.hotelherbetet.com. Swiss-style chalet with rustic mountain decor, including wood-beamed ceilings and cosy comforters. The restaurant features mostly Italian dishes, with a mix of country game and French cuisine. Open mid-May to mid-Sept. B&B, half- or full board available. 3 La Barme Frazione Valnontey T 0165.74.158, W www.hotellabarme.com. This very rustic stone complex with a small spa is set up for both summer and winter sports, including horseriding and skiing. Closed Oct & Nov. Restaurant offers set menus for non-guests, starting at €15. 4 Paradisia Frazione Valnontey 36 T 0165.74.158, Wwww.hotelparadisia.com. Converted mountain chalet offering homely comforts. Restaurant services for non-guests,
featuring northern Italian and Swiss-style cookery. Open Easter–Sept. 3 Stambecco Rue des Clementines 21, Cogne T0165.74.068, Wwww.hotelstambecco.com. Alpine chalet in style, very welcoming, with rooms featuring natural wood and warm colours. 3
Campsites Gran Paradiso Frazione Valnontey 59 T0165.749.204, W www.campinggranparadiso.it. 120 sites. Open mid-May to mid-Sept. Vallée de Cogne Località Fabrique, Via Cavagnet 7, Cogne T0165.749.279, Wwww.hotelvalleede cogne.it. Just on the northwest edge of town, next to a full-service hotel of the same name and management. Open year-round.
| The Gran Paradiso National Park
Park accommodation is largely of the mountain lodge variety and places are regularly monitored to maintain high standards of service. Some close part of the year, and all quickly get booked solid during peak seasons. Most will require halfor full board. There are several campsites, closed from about mid-September to about mid-May, so check exact dates. Many hotels here have restaurants open to non-guests, and Cogne has more choices, including several delicatessens that will make up sandwiches for you.
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
The small village of VALNONTEY, 2.5km southwest of Cogne, is the startingpoint for a steep, three-hour walk up to the Rifugio V. Sella (T 0165.74.310, W www.rifugiosella.com; Easter–Sept; 3.5hr one way), a demanding hike that’s incredibly popular on summer Sundays and in early August. The path passes a botanical garden (mid-June to mid-Sept daily 10am–6.30pm; €2.70), with rare alpine flora, then zigzags up through a forest and onto exposed mountainside before reaching the rifugio, set on a grassy plateau. At the mountain tarn of Lago Loson, a fifteen-minute walk from the rifugio, you may well spot ibex or more timid chamois, especially at sunset and sunrise, when there are fewer people around. Hardened hikers who can cope with a stretch of climbing (difficulty “E”) can press on over the Colle de Lauson to the Val di Rhêmes.
Restaurants Brasserie du Bon Bec Rue Bourgeois 72, Cogne T0165.749.288. Rustic mountain food served by staff in traditional costume in an impressive woodpanelled “hut”; €25–30 per person. Closed Mon. Lou Ressignon Rue Mines de Cogne 22, Cogne T0165.74.034. Hearty soups and stews plus a good wine list; full meals run €25–30. Closed Mon dinner & Wed.
Valsavarenche Although not as spectacular as the Val di Cogne, Valsavarenche, the next valley west, has its own kind of beauty, attracting seasoned walkers rather than gentle amblers. The most popular route is the ascent of Gran Paradiso, from Pont at the end of the valley. Though reckoned to be the easiest of the higher
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PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
Alps, it is nevertheless a climb rather than a hike, with no path marked beyond the Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele II (T 0165.95.920; mid-March to mid-Sept), two and a half hours from Pont. If you feel safer walking along footpaths, the best of the hikes are from the village of Degioz, a locality of Valsavarenche, up to the Rifugio Orvielles (2hr 30min; T 0165.905.816) and then on to a series of high mountain lakes. This takes seven hours, but you can shorten it a bit by taking path #3a down to Pont. Less taxing is the two-hour walk from Pont towards the glacier Grand Etret at the head of the valley, although the first stretch is pretty boring. Practicalities
| The northwest: around Mont Blanc
The only hotel in Degioz is the Parco Nazionale (T 0165.905.706; Jan 1 & April–Sept; 3 , breakfast extra), while in Pont there is the Genzianella, a chaletstyle establishment (T 0165.95.393, W www.genzianella.aosta.it; June–Sept; 3 , breakfast extra). The area is well supplied with campsites, of which the nicest is Pont Breuil (T 0165.95.458; June–Sept) in Pont, with a well-stocked site shop (there’s no other for kilometres around); ibex come down to graze on the grassy meadow around the tents. There’s also a leafy campsite at Località Plan de la Presse, Gran Paradiso (T 0165.905.801; June–Sept). There are places to eat in Degioz, such as the Pub Brasserie l’Abro de la Leunna at Frazione Degioz 93 (T 0165.905.732; closed Wed), but at Pont you’ll have to cook for yourself or ask at one of the hotels.
Val di Rhêmes The least touristed of the valleys, Val di Rhêmes, is also headed by glaciers. The best place to stay is BRUIL, a hamlet at the end of the valley, from where most of the walks start. There’s a fairly easy path along the river to a waterfall, the Cascata di Goletta, at its most spectacular after the spring snowmelt, and from here you can continue to the mountain lake of Goletta and the Rifugio Gian Federico Benevolo (T 0165.936.143, W www.benevolo.info; March–Sept, closed first half of June), taking in some splendid views on the way. Economical hotel options in Bruil include Chez Lidia (T 0165.936.103, W www.hotelchezlidia.it; 2 , breakfast extra) and the Galisia (T &F 0165.936.100; 1 , breakfast extra); both are open all year.
The northwest: around Mont Blanc
94
Dominated by the snowy peaks of Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco to the Italians), the northern reaches of Valle d’Aosta are spectacular and very popular. The most sensational views are from the cable cars that glide and swoop (at times, alarmingly so) across the mountain to Chamonix in France. However, the trip is expensive (€55 return, €46 one way), even if you take a bus back to Italy through the elevenkilometre-long Mont Blanc tunnel, and the service is often suspended because of bad weather. If the cable car seems too pricey, you can walk up to the Testa d’Arpy – a natural balcony with a bird’s-eye view up the valley to Mont Blanc – from the sprawling resort of LA THUILE, on the road to the Petit-St-Bernard Pass into France. Buses run from Pré-St-Didier at the end of the Valle d’Aosta railway line to La Thuile, from where it’s just over two-hours’ walk by path or road to the La Genzianella hotel (T 0165.841.689, W www.hotelgenzianella.net; 3 ) at the top of the Colle San Carlo. From here a path leads through woods to Testa d’Arpy in
Courmayeur and Mont Blanc
| The northwest: around Mont Blanc
COURMAYEUR (W www.courmayeur.com) is the smartest and most popular of Valle d’Aosta’s ski resorts, much used by package-tour operators. The skiing is good, though there’s little to challenge experts, and the scenery is magnificent, but, predictably, what remains of the old village is enmeshed in a web of ersatz Alpine chalets and après-ski hangouts. There are two ski schools here: Monte Biano Ski and Snowboard School (W www.scuolascimontebianco.com) and the Snowboard and Ski School Courmayeur (W www.scuolascicourmayeur .it). Lift passes start at about €200 for six days, either consecutive or non-consecutive. If you’ve come to hike or take the cable cars across to Chamonix, the most convenient place to stay is LA PALUD, 5km outside Courmayeur (three buses a day). The cable car runs from La Palud to Punta Helbronner all year round, but continues to Chamonix only between July and September (Punta Hellbronner– Chamonix €39, Punta Hellbronner–Chamonix and return by coach €78). There are between ten and twelve departures a day, depending on the time of year, roughly hourly starting at 8.30am – although ultimately the regularity depends on the weather. To be sure of good views, you’ll need to set out early since it’s usually cloudy by midday; be sure also to get there in plenty of time, especially on summer weekends, as it’s much used by summer skiers. Even if it’s blazing hot in the valley, the temperature plunges to near freezing at the top, so come prepared. There are good walks along the two valleys at the foot of the Mont Blanc glaciers, both of which have seasonal campsites accessible by bus from Courmayeur. Val Ferret to the west is the more interesting option – you can walk back from Frebouze over Monte de la Saxe, with some incredible views of Mont Blanc en route. Among the fifty-odd hotels in Courmayeur, one of the cheapest is the one-star mountain chalet Venezia at Via delle Villette 2 (T &F 0165.842.461; 1 ); or there’s the three-star Crampon, on the same street at no. 8 (T 0165.842.385, W www .crampon.it; Christmas–April & July to mid-Sept; 5 ). Hotels in La Palud include the charming Chalet Joli (T 0165.869.722, W www.chaletjoli.com; 4 ) and the extremely comfortable Vallée Blanche (T 0165.897.002, W www.hotelvallee blanche.com; 5 ). Most of these hotels offer special pricing arrangements with local restaurants for their guests’ main meals.
PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
around ten minutes. It’s well worth having a good map (IGC Monte Bianco), not so much to find your way as to identify the peaks and glaciers spread out before you. La Thuile itself is a rather overdeveloped resort but it’s worth popping into the tourist office at Via M. Collomb 36 (daily 9am–12.30pm & 3–6pm; T 0165.883.049, W www.lathuile.it) for maps. The best accommodation is up the mountain at Du Glacier, Petite Golette 14 ( July–Sept & Nov–April; phone in advance to check that there’s room, and in high season they may require a minimum stay of three days; T 0165.884.137, W www.hotelduglacier.it; 3 ). Of the walks starting from the hotel the most interesting is the 45-minute hike to Lago d’Arpy, from where a path leads down into La Thuile.
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Travel details Trains PIE MONTE AND VAL L E D’AOS TA
| Travel details 96
Alba to: Asti (hourly; 50min). Aosta to: Pré-St-Didier (12 daily; 40–50min); Sarre (11 daily; 6min). Novara to: Biella (11 daily; 50min–1hr 5min). Torino (all stations) to: Alba (hourly; 1hr 10min–1hr 40min); Aosta (hourly; 2–3hr); Asti (hourly; 30min–1hr); Milan (Milano Centrale; hourly; 50min–2hr); Novara (hourly; 1hr 5min–1hr 50min).
Buses Alba to: Barolo (2 daily Mon–Sat; 30min). Aosta to: Cogne (6–7 daily; 50min); Courmayeur (13–16 daily; 1hr); Gran San Bernardo (2–4 daily; 55min); Pont Valsavarenche (mid-June to mid-Sept
3 daily, rest of year weekdays only; 1hr 10min); Rhêmes Notre Dame (mid-June to mid-Sept 3 daily; 1hr). Biella to: Ivrea (6 daily; 2hr 25min); Santuario di Oropa (7 daily; 40min). Chatillon to: Breuil-Cervinia (6 daily; 1hr–1hr 30min). Cogne to: Valnontey (July & early Sept 9 daily; Aug 22 daily; 15min). Pré-St-Didier to: Courmayeur (15 daily; 10–25min); La Thuile (11 daily; 25min). Saluzzo to: Paesana (Valle Po; Mon–Sat 11 daily, 3 Sun; 2hr); Val Varaita (3 daily; 1hr 15min). Torino (Corso Marconi) to: Saluzzo (10 daily; 1hr 20min). Torino (Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 131) to: Aosta (8 daily; 2–3hr); Cervinia (1 Sun; 2hr 15min); Courmayeur (7 daily; 4hr); Ivrea (12 daily; 1hr 15min).
2 L IGURIA
AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND 4 3
6
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10 MONTENEGRO
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CHAPTER 2 L IGURIA
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| Highlights ✱
✱
Highlights
Genoa With its rabbit warren of medieval streets, revamped port area and clutch of firstrate museums and churches, Genoa could easily justify a week of your time. See p.100 The train from Genoa to Casella An excellent way to escape the crowds on the coast and explore some of Italy’s most spectacular mountain scenery. See p.114 Finale Ligure If you just want somewhere to relax and spend time swimming and beach-lounging, look
no further – this is the classic Ligurian family resort. See p.116
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San Remo With its famous Art Nouveau casino, elegant palm-tree-lined seafront and unique old quarter, San Remo affords a glimpse of old-style Riviera glamour. See p.119
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Cinque Terre Five picturesque villages shoehorned into one of the most rugged parts of Liguria’s coastline and linked by a highly scenic coastal walking path. See p.129
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San Remo beach
2 |
heltering on the seaward side of the mountains that divide Piemonte from the coast, Liguria is the classic introduction to Italy for travellers journeying overland through France. There’s an unexpected change as you cross the border: the Italian Riviera, as Liguria’s commercially developed strip of coast is known, has more variety of landscape and architecture than its French counterpart, and is generally less frenetic. And if you want to escape the crowds, the mountains, which in places drop sheer to the sea, can offer respite from the standard format of beach, beach and more beach. Teetering on slopes carpeted with olives and vines are isolated mountain villages that retain their own rural culture and cuisine. The chief city of the region is Genoa, an ancient, sprawling port often acclaimed as the most atmospheric of all Italian cities. It has a dense and fascinating old quarter that is complemented by a vibrant social and ethnic mix and a newly energized dockside district. Genoa stands more or less in the middle of Liguria, between two distinct stretches of coast. To the west, the Riviera di Ponente is the more developed of the two, a long ribbon of hotels and resorts packed in summer with Italian families. Picking your route carefully means you can avoid the most crowded places, and in any case there’s nowhere really overcrowded as long as you avoid August. San Remo, the grande dame of Riviera resorts, is flanked by hillsides covered with glasshouses, and is a major centre for the worldwide export of flowers; Albenga and Noli are attractive medieval centres that have also retained a good deal of character; and Finale Ligure is a thoroughly pleasant Mediterranean seaside town. On Genoa’s eastern side is the more rugged Riviera di Levante, a mix of mountains and fishing villages, some formerly accessible only by boat, that appealed to the early nineteenth-century Romantics who “discovered” the Riviera, preparing the way for other artists and poets and the first package tourists. It’s still wild and extremely beautiful in places, although any sense of remoteness has long gone, and again you’d do best to visit outside peak season (August). Resorts like Portofino are among the most expensive in the country, although nearby Santa Margherita Ligure makes a great base for exploring the surrounding coastline by train or car, as does the pretty fishing village of Camogli. Walks on Monte di Portofino and through the dramatic coastal scenery of the Cinque Terre take you through scrubland and vineyards for memorable views over broad gulfs and jutting headlands. In a car, the shore road is for the most part a disappointment: the coast is extremely built up, and you get a much better sense of the beauty of the region by taking the east–west autostrada which cuts through the mountains a few kilometres inland by means of a mixture of tunnels and viaducts. Fleeting bursts of daylight between tunnels give glimpses of the string of resorts along the coast, silvery olive groves and a
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| Genoa
Millésimo
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Mendática Mónesi Pieve di Teco
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brilliant sea. However, the real plus of Liguria is that so many of the coastal resorts are most easily accessible by train, with regular services stopping just about everywhere, and, because the track is forced to squeeze along the narrow coastal strip, stations are almost invariably centrally located in towns and villages.
Genoa
100
GENOA (Genova in Italian) is “the most winding, incoherent of cities, the most entangled topographical ravel in the world”. So said Henry James, and the city – Italy’s sixth largest – is still marvellously eclectic, vibrant and full of rough-edged style. Sprawled behind Italy’s biggest port is a dense and fascinating warren of medieval alleyways: “La Superba”, as it was known at the height of its powers, boasts more zest and intrigue than all the surrounding coastal resorts put together. It’s here that most of the city’s important palazzi are to be found, built in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries by Genoa’s wealthy mercantile families and now transformed into museums and art galleries. The tidying-up hasn’t sanitized the old town, however; the core of the city, between the two stations and the waterfront, is dark and slightly menacing, but the overriding impression is of a buzzing hive of
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A12
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L IGURIA
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| Genoa
Genoa
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activity – food shops nestled in the portals of former palaces, carpenters’ workshops sandwiched between designer furniture outlets, everything surrounded by a crush of people and the squashed vowels of the impenetrable Genoese dialect that has, over the centuries, absorbed elements of Neapolitan, Calabrese and Portuguese. Aside from the cosmopolitan street life, you should seek out the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo with its fabulous treasury, small medieval churches such as San Donato and San Matteo, and the Renaissance palazzi of Via Garibaldi which contain Genoa’s art collections, as well as furniture and decor from the grandest days of the city’s illustrious past. Some history
Genoa made its money at sea, through trade, colonial exploitation and piracy. By the thirteenth century, after playing a major part in the Crusades, the Genoese were roaming the Mediterranean, bringing back ideas as well as goods: the city’s architects were using Arab pointed arches a century before the rest of Italy. The San Giorgio banking syndicate effectively controlled the city for much of the fifteenth century, and cold-shouldered Columbus (who had grown up in Genoa) when he sought funding for his voyages. With Spanish backing, he opened up new Atlantic trade routes that ironically reduced Genoa to a backwater. Following foreign invasion, in 1768 the Banco di San Giorgio was forced to sell the Genoese
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Regional food and wine
L IGURIA
| Genoa
Liguria may lie in the north of Italy, but its benign Mediterranean climate, and to some extent its cooking, belong further south. Traditionally, the recipes from this region make something out of nothing, and the best-known Ligurian speciality is pesto, the simplest of dishes, invented by the Genoese to help their long-term sailors fight off scurvy, and made with chopped basil, garlic, pine nuts and grated sharp cheese (pecorino or parmesan) ground up together in olive oil. It’s used as a sauce for pasta (often flat trenette noodles, or knobbly little potato-flour shapes known as trofie), and often served with a few boiled potatoes and green beans, or stirred into soup to make minestrone alla genovese. Other dishes to look out for are cima alla genovese (cold, stuffed veal); the widely available torta pasqualina – a spinach-and-cheese pie with eggs; golden focaccia bread; often flavoured with olives, sage or rosemary, or covered with toppings; and sardenaira – a Ligurian pizza made with tomatoes, onions and garlic. And lots of things with chickpeas, which grow abundantly along the coast and crop up in farinata, a kind of chickpea pancake displayed in broad, round baking trays that you’ll see everywhere, and in zuppa di ceci. Otherwise, fish dominates – not surprising in a region where more than two-thirds of the population lives on the coast. Local anchovies are a common antipasto, while pasta with a variety of fish and seafood sauces appears everywhere (mussels, scampi, octopus and clams are all excellent); you’ll find delicious polpo (octopus), usually served cold with potatoes, good swordfish, and dishes like ciuppin or fish soup, burrida di seppie (cuttlefish stew), or fish in carpione (marinated in vinegar and herbs). Salt cod (baccalà) and wind-dried cod (stoccofisso) are big local favourites. Many restaurants in Rapallo and along the Tigullio coast serve bagnun, a dish based on anchovies, tomato, garlic, onion and white wine, and in Cinque Terre and Lévanto you’ll often see gattafin – a delicious deep-fried vegetable pasty. Liguria’s soil and aspect aren’t well suited to vine-growing, although plenty of local wine – mainly white – is quite drinkable. The steep, terraced slopes of the Cinque Terre are home to some decent eponymous white wine and a sweet, expensive dessert wine called Sciacchetrà, made from partially dried grapes. From the Riviera di Ponente, look out for the crisp whites of Pigato (from Albenga) and Vermentino (from Imperia), as well as the acclaimed Rossese di Dolceacqua, Liguria’s best red.
colony of Corsica to the French, and a century later, the city became a hotbed of radicalism: Mazzini, one of the main protagonists of the Risorgimento, was born here, and in 1860 Garibaldi set sail for Sicily with his “Thousand” from the city’s harbour. Around the same time, Italy’s industrial revolution began in Genoa, with steelworks and shipyards spreading along the coast. These suffered heavy bombing in World War II, and the subsequent economic decline hobbled Genoa for decades. Things started to look up in the 1990s. State funding to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus’s 1492 voyage paid to renovate many of the city’s lateRenaissance palaces and the old port area, with Genoa’s most famous son of modern times, Renzo Piano (best known as the co-designer of Paris’s Pompidou Centre), taking a leading role. The results of a twelve-year programme that saw Genoa becoming a European Capital of Culture in 2004 are evident all over the city.
Arrival, transport and information
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Genoa has two main train stations: Stazione Principe, on Piazza Acquaverde, just north of the port and west of the centre, and Stazione Brignole on Piazza Verdi, east of the old town. Buses #30, #33 and #37, among others, ply between the two. There are staffed left-luggage offices at both stations. Buses heading to the city outskirts – the Riviera, and inland – arrive on Piazza della Vittoria,
Lanterna (1km)
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Arena del Mare
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Porto Antico
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B D F E C A
GENOA ACCOMMODATION Agnello d’Oro Astoria Bel Soggiorno Bristol Palace Il Salotto di Lucilla Ostello di Genova
Train to Casella
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PIAZZA MANIN
PIAZZA COLOMBO VIA COLOMBO
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| Genoa
VIA BERTANI
VIA GALATA
L IGURIA
A
Albaro & Boccadasse
103
City tours
L IGURIA
Various operators offer tours of Genoa: Pippo run a mini-train from the port around the city centre; tours last 40 minutes (adults €6.50, children €3.50). PesciViaggi organize open-top bus tours with commentary that start from Piazza Caricamento, near the Aquarium, and last an hour (€10, children €5). Alternatively, at weekends you can take a walking tour around the old town, booked through the tourist office (€12, under-12s free; W www.genova-turismo.it).
| Genoa
a few minutes’ walk south of Brignole. The Aeroporto Cristoforo Colombo (T 010.60151, W www.aeroportodigenova.com) is 6km west of the city centre and is connected to it by the Volabus, which runs to Stazione Principe, Piazza de Ferrari and Stazione Brignole roughly every 40 minutes throughout the day; tickets cost €6 and it’s about half an hour to Stazione Brignole. Taxis pull up outside the Arrivals building and charge a fixed price of €7 per person to Stazione Principe, €8 to Brignole (minimum 3 people). The best way to get around the city is to walk, but you may want to use the city’s public transport network of buses and metros (T 800.085.311 Mon–Fri 8.15am–4.30pm, W www.amt.genova.it) to go from one side of the city centre to the other or to reach outlying sights; tickets cost €1.20 and are valid for 90 minutes. AMT also run the lifts and funiculars that scale the city’s many hills; tickets to use these cost €0.70. You can also buy all-day transport tickets for €3.50, or a museum card that includes public transport (see box, p.107). There are a dozen or so central car parks, all of which cost around €20 per day; the largest is beneath Piazza della Vittoria (open 24hr); there are several others in and around the Porto Antico. The old quarter is barred to traffic. There are two central tourist offices: next to the opera house on Piazza de Ferrari (Mon–Sun 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; T 010.860.6122, W www.turismo.comune .genova.it), and Via Garibaldi 12 (daily 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; T 010.557.2903), as well as kiosks at the airport and the Porto Antico, just off Piazza Caricamento.
Accommodation There’s no shortage of accommodation in Genoa, but many of the budget hotels – especially those around the train stations – are grimy and depressing, and you need to look hard to find the exceptions. The area just west of Stazione Brignole (Piazza Colombo and Via XX Settembre) is preferable to anything around Stazione Principe. There’s a handful of quality hotels in the old quarter, though you should steer clear of the one-star places down by the port (on and around Via di Prè). Hotels
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Affitacamere San Lorenzo Vico Scureria La Vecchia 1 T010.254.3049, Wwww.sanlorenzo genova.tk. Two spotless rooms in a fifteenthcentury building tucked away in the web of streets around the Duomo. 2 –3 Agnello d’Oro Vico Monachette 6 T010.246.2084, Wwww.hotelagnellodoro.it. Spacious, modernized rooms – some with balconies – in a seventeenthcentury palace alongside the Palazzo Reale and within spitting distance of Stazione Principe. 2 –3 Astoria Piazza Brignole 4 T010.873.316, W www .hotelastoriagenova.it. This large hotel has big,
atmospheric rooms and plenty of faded grandeur. A reliable and interesting choice, a short walk from Stazione Brignole. 5 Bel Soggiorno Via XX Settembre 19/2 T010.581.418, Wwww.belsoggiornohotel.com. Run by a gregarious German woman (who speaks English), this is a welcoming place, with a cosy lobby and breakfast room, though the rooms are a little lacking in character. 3 Bristol Palace Via XX Settembre 35 T 010.592.541, W www.bristolpalace.it. Grand old pile near Stazione Brignole, full of antique furniture, old masters and an Edwardian sense
Genoa addresses
Major Vico Spada 4 T010.247.4174, Wwww .hotelmajorgenova.it. A great location in the Old Town, along with clean and well-furnished rooms with TV, make this a great bargain. 2
Hostel
| Genoa
of order and discretion. Rooms are large, attractive and have a/c, and online bargains often abound. 5 Cairoli Via Cairoli 14/4 T 010.246.1454, W www.hotelcairoligenova.com. A superior three-star, whose brightly furnished, modern, en-suite rooms are soundproof. There’s also a roof terrace and two apartments for rent. One of the city’s best deals. 2 –3 Il Salotto di Lucilla Passo Palestro 3/5 T 010.882.391, Wwww.ilsalottodilucilla .com. A quiet, elegant B&B with a lovely sitting room and great breakfasts, right in the heart of town. The three rooms have private bathrooms and TV. Book in advance. 2 –4
L IGURIA
Genoa is one of the handful of Italian cities with a double system of street-numbering: commercial establishments, such as bars and restaurants, have red numbers (rosso), while all other buildings have black numbers (nero) – and the two systems don’t run in tandem. This means, for example, that Via Banchi 35/R might be next door to Via Banchi 89N, but several hundred metres from Via Banchi 33/N.
Ostello di Genova Passo Costanzi 10 T010.242.2457, W www.ostellogenova.it. Genoa’s HI hostel is clean and well run, although its out-oftown location means you will be heavily reliant on buses. It’s up in the hills of Righi, north of the centre. From Stazione Principe take bus #35, then switch at the fifth stop onto bus #40; from Brignole bus #40 or #640 all the way. Hostel closed 11.30am–2.30pm. Dorm beds from €17.
The City Genoa’s atmospheric Old Town spreads outwards from the port in a confusion of tiny alleyways (caruggi), bordered by Via Gramsci along the waterfront and by Via Garibaldi to the north. The caruggi are lined with high buildings, usually six or seven storeys, set very close together. Grocers, textile workshops and bakeries jostle for position with boutiques, design outlets and goldsmiths amid a flurry of shouts, smells and scrawny cats. The cramped layout of the area reflects its medieval politics. Around the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the city’s principal families – Doria, Spinola, Grimaldi and Fieschi – marked out certain streets and squares as their territory, even extending their domains to include churches: to pray in someone else’s chapel was to risk being stabbed in the back. New buildings on each family’s patch had to be slotted in wherever they could, resulting in a maze of crooked alleyways that was the battleground of dynastic feuds which lasted well into the eighteenth century. Piazza de Ferrari and Piazza Matteotti
If Genoa has a centre it’s probably Piazza de Ferrari, a mainly pedestrian open space that separates old Genoa from the nineteenth-century city. Overlooked by a statue of Garibaldi in front of the grand facade of the Carlo Felice opera house, one side of the square is taken up by a flank of the sixteenth-century Palazzo Ducale, home to the doge of Genoa between 1384 and 1515, whose huge vaulted atrium makes a splendid exhibition hall. During summer parts of the rest of the building are also open to the public, and you can visit the vast hall of the Maggior Consiglio upstairs, where massive chandeliers hang above the space once occupied by the 400 Genoese nobles who ruled the maritime republic. You can also view the Doge’s Chapel, perhaps the most frescoed room of all time, and from there climb up to the Torre Grimaldi (early July–Sept Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 3–6pm; €5) for the views and for some of the grimmest dungeons you’ll ever see, home for a while to Garibaldi and another Italian patriot, Jacopo Ruffini, who cut his own throat here in 1833.
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100 m
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ACCOMMODATION Affitacamere San Lorenzo Cairoli Major
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Via XX Settembre
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Piazza Corvetto
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The Card Musei
| Genoa
Around the corner, Piazza Matteotti is home to the main entrance of the Palazzo Ducale and the Gesù church (Mon–Sat 7am–12.45pm & 4–7.30pm), which was designed by Pellegrino Tibaldi at the end of the sixteenth century and contains a mass of marble and gilt stucco and some fine Baroque paintings, including Guido Reni’s Assumption in the right aisle and two works by Rubens: The Miracles of St Ignatius on the left and The Circumcision on the high altar.
L IGURIA
If you’re planning to visit a number of museums, it might be worth investing in the city’s museum card, or Card Musei, which costs €12 for 24hr (including public transport €13.50), or €16 for 48hr (including public transport €20). It’s valid for most of Genoa’s museums and gives discounts at others. You can buy the card at the tourist office or from the museums themselves.
Via San Lorenzo and the Cattedrale
Old Genoa’s main artery, Via San Lorenzo, leads from Piazza Matteotti down to the port, a pedestrianized stretch that makes for a busy evening passeggiata, and a handy reference point when negotiating the old city, which it effectively splits in two. On the eastern side, the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo (daily 9am–noon & 3–6pm) anchors the square of the same name, its facade an elaborate confection of twisting, fluted columns and black-and-white striped stone that was added by Gothic craftsmen from France in the early thirteenth century. The stripes here, like other examples throughout the city, were a sign of prestige: families could use them only if they had a permit, awarded for “some illustrious deed to the advantage of their native city”. While the rest of Genoa’s churches were portioned out between the ruling dynasties, the cathedral remained open to all. The interior has some well-preserved Byzantine frescoes of the Last Judgement above the main entrance, and is home, off the left aisle, to the large Renaissance chapel of St John the Baptist, whose ashes – legend has it – once rested in the thirteenth-century sarcophagus. After a particularly bad storm in medieval times, priests carried his casket through the city down to the port to placate the sea, and a procession still takes place each June 24 in honour of the saint. Note the central figures of the saint and the Madonna by Sansovino. Just past the chapel, the Museo del Tesoro (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–6pm; €4.50, €6 including Museo Diocesano), housed in an atmospheric crypt, holds a polished quartz plate on which, legend says, Salome received John the Baptist’s severed head, and a glass vessel said to have been given to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and used at the Last Supper. There is also a British artillery shell that was fired from the sea during World War II and fell through the roof, but miraculously failed to explode. Take a look also at the Museo Diocesano (Tues–Sat 10am–1pm & 3–7pm, Sun 3–7pm; €2), behind the cathedral at Via Tommaso Reggio 20, which occupies a cloister and the medieval buildings around and displays more religious art and sculpture. North of Via San Lorenzo
The busiest and more obviously appealing part of old Genoa lies to the north of Via San Lorenzo. Just off the cathedral’s square, tiny Piazza Invrea gives on to the shopping square of the Campetto and adjacent Via degli Orefici, “Street of the Goldsmiths”. Much of the jewellery here is still made by hand at upper-floor workshops around the Campetto, which links to the genteel sliver of Piazza Soziglia, crowded with stalls and café tables. From here Via Luccoli heads north, with glitzy boutiques and design outlets galore, while a few streets to the east is
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the city’s prettiest small square, Piazza San Matteo. This lay in the territory of the Doria family, who went one step further than merely striping the twelfthcentury church of San Matteo (Mon–Sat 7.30am–noon & 4–5.30pm) and ordered elaborate testimonials to the family’s worthiness to be carved on the facade of the church and their adjoining palaces; inside, the tomb of the patriarch and sea captain Andrew Doria lies in the crypt. Via degli Orefici leads down to a thriving commercial area centred on Piazza Banchi, a small enclosed square of secondhand books, records, fruit and flowers which was once the heart of the medieval city. Up the steps to the left, the little church of San Pietro in Banchi was built in the sixteenth century after a plague; with little money to spare, the city authorities sold plots of commercial space in arcades underneath the church in order to fund construction of the main building. From Piazza Banchi, the animated Via San Luca heads north, lined with shops selling counterfeit designer clothes and accessories. The street was in Spinola family territory, and their grand, former residence is now the excellent Galleria Nazionale di Palazzo Spinola, beside Piazza Pelliceria (Tues–Sat 8.30am–7.30pm, Sun 1.30–7.30pm; €4, joint ticket with Palazzo Reale €6.50), whose first two floors are perhaps Genoa’s best example of a grand family palace, with original furniture and rooms crammed with high-quality paintings. There are Van Dyck portraits of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as men of books, a portrait of Paolo Spinola by the Rome-based German painter Angelika Kaufmann, and upstairs an intensely mournful Ecce Homo by the Sicilian master Antonello da Messina and the splendid Adoration of the Magi by Joos van Cleve, sawn into planks when stolen from the church of San Donato in the 1970s. Don’t miss the little terrace, way up on the spine of the roof and shaded with orange and lemon trees. North of here the old town is quieter and a fair bit seedier, centred on busy Via della Maddalena, which skirts the city’s thriving red-light trade. Steep lanes rise north of Via della Maddalena, lifting you out of the melee and into the ordered calm of Via Garibaldi (see opposite). South of Via San Lorenzo
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The section of the Old Town south of Via San Lorenzo is less visited than the districts to the north, and more residential. Many of Genoa’s students and young professionals live in the upper floors of the old buildings lining Via dei Giustiniani and Via San Bernardo, generating a lively bar culture in the surrounding alleys. From the cathedral and Piazza Matteotti, narrow Salita Pollaiuoli plunges you into the gloom between high buildings down to a crossroads with Via San Bernardo, one of Genoa’s most vibrant Old Town streets, with grocers and bakers trading behind the portals of palaces decorated in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. On the south side of the crossroads tiny Piazza San Donato is overlooked by San Donato, a crumbling, bare Romanesque church with a Roman architrave surviving over its door and an octagonal Byzantine-style campanile, while beyond, Stradone Sant’Agostino was laid out in the eighteenth century and is now home to a quirky array of bars and workshops. At the top, the long, narrow bulge of Piazza Sarzano was originally home to Genoa’s many ropemaking workshops and, owing to its enormous length, is still the scene for medieval-style jousting tournaments. To the left is the (rebuilt) thirteenth-century church of Sant’Agostino, whose unique triangular cloister houses the Museo di Sant’Agostino (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €4), which displays fragments of sculpture through Genoa’s long history. The highlight is a fragment of the tomb of Margherita of Brabant, sculpted in 1312 by Giovanni Pisano. Beyond, Via Ravecca leads up to the Porta Soprana, a twin-towered stone gateway featuring impressive Gothic arches, that now stands as the focus for a rather upmarket collection of bars and terrace cafés.
Via Garibaldi
The Musei di Strada Nuova
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Three of the street’s finest palazzi – Bianco, Rosso and Tursi – have been re-branded the Musei di Strada Nuova and together they hold the city’s finest collection of old-master paintings (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €8 combined ticket, available from Palazzo Tursi). The first of these, the Palazzo Bianco, was built between 1530 and 1540 for the important Genoese family, the Grimaldis. Its gallery houses the largest collection of Genoese and Ligurian painting – including work by Cambiaso, Piola, Castiglione and Castello – alongside works by Flemish and Dutch masters such as Gerard David and Hans Memling. The Palazzo Bianco provides access to the next-door Palazzo Tursi, the largest of Genoa’s palaces, with an imposing main courtyard. It’s the site of the town hall and as such much of it is closed to the public, but you can see more paintings, ceramics and furniture, and look in on the Sala Paganiniana, on the first floor – a couple of rooms dedicated to the great Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini, who was born in Genoa in 1782. The prime exhibits are his two violins – the cannone, the great man’s Guarneri violin made in 1743, along with a copy of it made in Paris in 1834, which he is actually said to have preferred. Across the road at no. 18, the Palazzo Rosso has a splendid first-floor picture gallery, with paintings by mainly fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian artists – Andrea del Sarto, Mattia Preti, Guercino and a whole room of works by local Bernardo Strozzi – along with a choice few northern-European works by the likes of Roger van der Weyden, Dürer and Gerard David. The rooms on the floor above have been restored to their original Baroque grandeur, bedecked with chandeliers, mirrors, frescoed ceilings and an excess of gilding, and there’s a series of splendid portraits by Van Dyck of the Brignole-Sale family, who built the palace in 1671. On the floor above this is a mock-up of the refined twentieth-century apartment of the former director of Genoa’s museums, an odd mixture of classic and modern furniture and old masters, and above this a rooftop terrace that offers fantastic views of the city centre.
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When newly made fortunes encouraged Genoa’s merchant bankers to move out of the cramped Old Town in the mid-sixteenth century, artisans’ houses were pulled down to make way for the Strada Nuova, later named Via Garibaldi. To walk along the surprisingly narrow street is to stroll through a Renaissance architect’s drawing pad – sculpted facades, stuccowork and medallions decorate the exterior of the three-storey palazzi, while some of the large courtyards are almost like private squares.
Stazione Principe and around
The grandiose Stazione Principe lies on Piazza Acquaverde, below which Via Andrea Doria winds down to the port and ferry terminal, and the lavish gardens of the huge Palazzo del Principe Doria Pamphilj (May–July & Sept–Dec 25 Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; €7), built in the early 1530s by Andrea Doria, who made his reputation and fortune attacking Turkish fleets and Barbary pirates and liberating the Genoese republic from the French and Spanish. The Palazzo Reale
From the station, Via Balbi leads east to the old part of Genoa. The vast Palazzo Reale at Via Balbi 10 (Tues & Wed 9am–1.30pm, Thurs–Sun 9am–7pm; €4, joint ticket with Palazzo Spinola €6.50) was built by the Balbi family in the early seventeenth century and later occupied by the Durazzo dynasty and the Savoyard
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royals. There’s a huge atrium overlooking an elegant courtyard garden, and you can climb the grand staircase to the ballroom, with gilt stucco ceilings and Chinese vases. To the left are four drawing rooms, featuring a huge watercolour of the crossing of the Red Sea painted on silk, and a stunning hall of mirrors, where Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, is said to have remarked in 1784 that the palace appeared more of a royal residence than his own simple pad back in Vienna. Doors lead through to the private quarters of the Duke of Genoa, with the duke’s bedchamber featuring a sumptuous Baroque ceiling fresco and the bathroom holding elegant furniture carved in England in the 1820s. The east wing holds the royal quarters: a chapel gallery behind the ballroom, covered in trompe-l’oeil frescoes by Lorenzo de Ferrari; the adjacent throne room, dotted with dozens of “C.A.” monograms in honour of Carlo Alberto, King of Savoy, and a lavish audience room with a grand portrait of a tightlipped Caterina Durazzo-Balbi painted by Van Dyck in 1624 during his six-year stay in Genoa. Alongside, the king’s bedchamber has Van Dyck’s first canvas of the Crucifixion, also dating from 1624, and the queen’s quarters feature a ghostly pale Crucifixion by the Neapolitan master Luca Giordano and a St Lawrence by Bernardo Strozzi. Don’t miss also the grand terrace which gives airy views over the port. Museo delle Culture del Mondo and Museo del Risorgimento
North of the station, and best reached via the lift from Via Balbi, the Museo delle Culture del Mondo (April–Sept Tues–Fri 10am–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; Oct–March Tues–Fri 10am–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; €6) is housed in the grand neo-Gothic home of the nineteenth-century adventurer Captain D’Albertis, who spent much of his later life filling its rooms with masks, musical instruments, pottery, paintings, stuffed animals and more picked up during voyages to the Americas, Africa and Oceania. A few minutes’ walk from the Palazzo Reale is Via Lomellini 11, where one of the most influential activists of Italian Unification, Giuseppe Mazzini, was born in 1805. The house is now the Museo del Risorgimento (Tues–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 10am–7pm; €4), which displays documents and relics from his life. The old port
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It’s a short stroll from Piazza Banchi out into the open spaces of Genoa’s old port or Porto Antico – more integrated now with the city than it has perhaps ever been, and also totally revitalized over the past two decades, its old warehouses converted into exhibition spaces, concert halls, museums and waterfront cafés and restaurants. The sea once came up to the vaulted arcades of Via Sottoripa, which runs alongside the large pedestrianized space of Piazza Caricamento, above which the sopraelevata, or elevated highway, shoots along the waterfront above. The Palazzo di San Giorgio here is a brightly painted fortified palace built in 1260 from the stones of a captured Venetian fortress. After the great sea-battle of Curzola in 1298, the Genoese used the building to keep their Venetian prisoners under lock and key; among them was one Marco Polo, who met a Pisan writer named Rustichello inside and spun tales of adventure to him of worlds beyond the seas. After their release, Rustichello published the stories in a single volume that became The Travels of Marco Polo. These days, the building is home to the harbour authorities, but you can ask the guardian on the door to let you in to see the medieval Sala dei Protettori and beautiful Sala Manica Lunga, whose decor was restored to its thirteenth-century grandeur following bomb damage in World War II.
The Bigo and Molo Vecchio
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Beyond the Palazzo di San Giorgio, the visual centrepiece of the resurgent waterfront is the Bigo – a curious multi-armed contraption, designed by Renzo Piano, intended to recall the harbourside cranes of old. It consists of a tent-roofed exhibition/concert space where waterside performances are given in summer and an ice-skating rink is set up in winter, next to which stands a circular elevator that ascends 60m in the air to let visitors see Genoa “as it is seen by the seagulls” (March, April, Sept & Oct Mon 2–6pm, Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; June–Aug Mon 4–11pm, Tues–Sun 10am–11pm; Jan, Feb, Nov & Dec Sat & Sun 10am–5pm; €4, children €3). Just southwest of here is the old Porta Siberia, with the Molo Vecchio (Old Wharf ) beyond, and a set of restored cotton warehouses that now house a shoppingcum-entertainment centre, the Magazzini del Cotone, with bars, cinemas and music stores. Its main attraction is the Città dei Bambini e dei Ragazzi (Tues–Sun: July–Sept 11.30am–7.30pm; Oct–June 10am–6pm; €5, children €7), a whiz-bang interactive children’s science museum filled with gizmos and gadgets that proves popular with its target audience. The museum is divided into separate areas: for 2- to 3-year-olds, 3- to 5-year-olds and 6- to 14-year-olds. Past the centre, you can enjoy grand, sweeping views of the port from the end of the wharf. The Acquario di Genova and around
North of the Bigo, the Acquario di Genova (March–June, Sept & Oct Mon–Fri 9am–7.30pm, Sat & Sun 8.45am–8.30pm; July & Aug daily 8.30am–10pm; Nov–Feb Mon–Fri 9.30am–7.30pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am–8.30pm; last entry 1hr 30min before closing; €18, children €12) is the city’s pride and joy, Europe’s largest aquarium, with seventy tanks housing sea creatures from all the world’s major habitats, including the world’s biggest reconstruction of a Caribbean coral reef, complete with moray eels, turtles and angelfish, and lots of larger beasts too – sharks, dolphins, seals, an enclosure of penguins, and the usual rays in their petting pools. It’s a great aquarium by any standards, and boasts a fashionably ecologyconscious slant and excellent background information in Italian and English. Alongside the aquarium there’s the futuristic-looking Biosfera, a steel-and-glass Renzo Piano-designed sphere housing a small tropical ecosystem, complete with trees, flowers and insects (daily 10am–5pm; €5), and, moored at the next pier, Il Galeone Neptune (daily 10am–6pm; €5), a kitschy full-size replica of a seventeenthcentury galleon with a huge, colourful Neptune figurehead, and several decks to explore. A couple of minutes’ walk further north, a giant glass building holds the wonderful Galata Museo del Mare (March–Oct daily 10am–7.30pm; Nov–Feb 10am–6pm, last entry 5pm; €11, children €6), one of the best museums in the city, detailing on three floors the history of Genoa and its relationship with the sea, following its evolution from the late medieval period to nineteenth-century immigration to the United States, illustrated with plenty of nautical paraphernalia and several full-size ships.
Tickets for the port attractions There are lots of tickets that combine the Aquarium with the other museums of the Porto Antico, available in various combinations – such as the Città dei Bambini and Aquarium for €20 (children €16), or Aquarium and Biosfera for €22 (children €14). You can also buy an Acquario Village ticket, valid for a year, that covers the Aquarium, Città dei Bambini, Biosfera, Bigo and Galata Museo del Mare – and gives discounts at shops and attractions, plus free rides on the mini-train that tours the port – for €35 (children €25).
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The Stazione Maríttima and around
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Beyond the redeveloped part of the port lies the fin-de-siècle Stazione Maríttima, the ferry terminal for services to Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Tunisia (see p.114). Just in front, the Ponte dei Mille ( Jetty of the Thousand) is so called for Giuseppe Garibaldi, ex-mercenary and spaghetti salesman, who persuaded his thousand Red Shirts to set off for Sicily in two clapped-out paddle steamers, armed with just a few rifles and no ammunition. Their mission, to support a Sicilian uprising and unite the island with the mainland states, greatly annoyed some northern politicians, who didn’t want anything to do with the undeveloped south. There’s a promenade walk you can follow further round the port from here (daily 8am–sunset) to Genoa’s sixteenthcentury lighthouse, the Lanterna (Sat & Sun 10am–7pm), which has been restored as a museum. You can climb the 172 steps to the first terrace, and compare the building with the nearby Matitone, a postmodern polygonal tower housing municipal offices whose pointed roof has given it its sardonic nickname “The Big Pencil”. Modern Genoa
In the nineteenth century, Genoa began to expand beyond its old-town constraints. The newer districts begin with the large central Piazza de Ferrari, from where Via XX Settembre runs a straight course east through the commercial centre of the city towards Stazione Brignole. This grand boulevard features big department stores, clothes shops and pavement cafés beneath its arcades, and there are prized delicatessens in the side streets around Stazione Brignole and Piazza Colombo, and a bustling covered Mercato Orientale partway along, in the cloisters of an old Augustinian monastery. At the eastern end of Via XX Settembre, the park outside the Stazione Brignole extends south into Piazza della Vittoria, a huge and dazzling white square built during the Fascist period that now serves as the long-distance bus station. Walking north from Piazza de Ferrari takes you up to Piazza Corvetto – built by the Austrians in the nineteenth century and now a major confluence of traffic and people. Across the other side of the square, a thoughtful-looking statue of Giuseppe Mazzini marks the entrance to the Villetta di Negro, a lushly landscaped park whose artificial waterfalls and grottoes scale the hill. At the top, the Museo d’Arte Orientale Edoardo Chiossone (Tues–Fri 9am–1pm, Sat & Sun 10am–7pm; €4) holds a collection of oriental art that includes eighteenthcentury sculpture and paintings and samurai armour. Chiossone was a printer and engraver for the Italian mint, and, on the strength of his banknote-engraving skills, he was invited by the Meiji dynasty to establish the Japanese Imperial Mint. He lived in Japan from 1875 until his death in Tokyo in 1898, building up a fascinating and extensive collection. The funiculars
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If you’re not satisfied with the view from the Villetta di Negro, you can take the Art Nouveau-style public lift from Piazza del Portello up to the Castelletto, which offers a great panorama over the port and the roofs of the Old Town; a funicular also leaves from the same place up to the residential Sant’Anna district, although the views from here aren’t as good (ordinary bus tickets are valid for both). When Genoa ran out of building space, plots for houses were hewn out of the hillside behind, like the steps of an amphitheatre, and the funicular enables you to see these at close quarters, as the carriages edge past people’s front windows. Another funicular runs from Largo Zecca, further west, to the suburb of Righi, where you can admire vistas of the city below and wander off on any of a number of paths, although locals generally come here to sit in the various panoramic restaurants for extended sessions of family dining.
Eating and drinking
Bars and cafés
Restaurants Da Rina Mura delle Grazie 3/R T010.246.6475. Da Rina has been going for sixty years, serving simple, high-quality Genoese cooking in unpretentious surroundings down near the waterfront. Lots of fish and classic Ligurian dishes such as cima alla genovese. Moderately priced. Closed Mon & Aug. I Tre Merli Via Dietro il Coro della Maddalena 26/R T 010.247.4095. Despite its location in the heart of the red-light district, this is one of the city’s very best restaurants, employing an innovative approach to Ligurian
cuisine. There are over 300 wines on the menu, stored in a converted fourteenth-century well. Closed Sat lunch & Sun. Branches in Camogli and down on the seafront (I Tre Merli al Porto Antico; T010.246.4416). La Berlocca Via del Macelli di Soziglia 45/R T010.247.4162. Opposite a magic shop in a narrow Old Town alleyway, this is a cosy bistrostyle establishment with an open fire in winter and a menu featuring adventurous takes on traditional Ligurian dishes, such as chestnut-flour pasta with pesto. Closed Mon. Le Cantine Squarciafico Piazza Invrea 3/R T010.247.0823. Atmospheric cantina in the wine cellar of a fifteenth-century mansion just off Piazza San Lorenzo. Innovative, carefully prepared food and a great wine list complement each other perfectly, though it is on the expensive side. Closed second half of Aug. Maxela Vico Inferiore del Ferro 9 T010.247.4209. There’s been a restaurant in this building since 1790. The latest, Maxela, is part of a small chain, and specializes in meat dishes, with big steaks, odd bun-less burgers and various offal dishes, served under a stripped-down old vaulting. There are a few pasta dishes on the menu too. Moderately priced, with mains around €12–18. Closed Sun. Östaja dö Castello Salita Santa Maria di Castello 32/R T010.246.8980. This is a great Old Town, family-run trattoria serving good, inexpensive fish and seafood specialities, such as octopus with potatoes and grilled prawns. Pasta dishes €9–12, mains €10–12. Closed Sun. Pansön Piazza delle Erbe 5/R T 010.246.8903. Venerable Genoese institution, in the same family since 1790, with an attractive location on a tucked-away piazza. Choose from a mainly fishy menu, priced high to keep the riff-raff away. Highly recommended. Closed Sun dinner. Taggiou Via Superiore del Ferroi 8 T010.275.9225. More of a wine bar than a restaurant, but very popular, drawing crowds at lunch and dinner for its great choice of Italian wine and plates of cold cuts and cheese. It serves cima alla Genovese and also does hot food – pasta al pesto and the like. A good Old Town choice. Open every day.
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Bar Berto Piazza delle Erbe 6/R. Narrow little stand-up café-bar founded in 1904 by Signor Berto who walked some 15km west to the ceramics centre of Albisola in order to collect colourful bits of broken tile to decorate the walls. There’s lots of seating outside on the pedestrianized square. A trendy spot for coffee, beer or a reasonably priced light meal. Mon–Sat 8am–9pm. Bar Pasticceria Mangini Via Roma at Piazza Corvetto. One of Genoa’s most venerable pasticcerie, in business since the early 1800s and still top-notch today. Daily until 7.30pm. Caffè degli Specchi Salita Pollaiuoli 43/R. This has been a prime spot since 1917 for Genoese artists, writers and intellectuals to take coffee while admiring themselves in the mirrors (specchi) that cover the magnificent tiled interior. It also offers a small selection of panini, focaccia and hot dishes. Closed Sun. Caffetteria Orefici Via degli Orefici 25/R. A tiny, fragrant temple to the art of coffee-making, with a range of specialist coffees and perfect results every time. Standing-room only. Closed Sun. Fratelli Klainguti Piazza Soziglia 98/R. An Austrian-style café dating from 1828, with cakes, coffee and ice cream under chandeliers and tables on the square outside. A good spot for lunch – it serves sandwiches, pasta dishes and salads – and breakfast: they still produce the hazelnut croissant known as a Falstaff, much esteemed by Giuseppe Verdi, who spent forty winters in Genoa (“Thanks for the Falstaff, much better than mine,” he wrote to the bakers).
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Genoa has everything from basic trattorias to elegant nineteenth-century cafés. Piazza Caricamento is one of the best places for street food, its arcades lined with cafés serving focaccia, panini and deep-fried seafood, while there are lots of places in the Old Town selling foccaccia and farinata (see box, p.102) – try Antica Sciamadda at Via Ravecca 19/R (closed Mon) or Panificio Patrone, Via Ravecca 72/R (closed Wed afternoon), one of Genoa’s top bakeries.
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Ugo Via Giustiniani 86/R T 010.246.9302. Convivial, reasonably-priced trattoria in the heart of the student quarter near San Donato, with a boisterous, friendly group of regulars who pack in
at shared tables to wolf down the Genoese and Ligurian dishes – heavy on pesto and seafood. Simple pricing – primi are €10, secondi €12. Closed Sun & Mon.
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Boat trips Consorzio Liguria Viamare (T 010.255.975, W www.whalewatchliguria.it) run regular summer whale-watching trips from Genoa and several other major towns along the coast. The same company operates 45-minute boat trips around Genoa’s port, departing from the Aquarium (every 30min, daily 9am–5pm; €6), and run summer excursions west and east along the Riviera (prices vary). Routes along the eastern coast are also operated by Golfo Paradiso (T 0185.772.091, W www.golfoparadiso.it), whose boats depart from Calata Mandraccio, just south of the Bigo. Bookshops Feltrinelli, Via Ceccardi 16, has some English-language paperbacks. Car rental Europcar, at the airport T 010.650.4881; Hertz, Via E. Ruspoli 78 T 010.570.2625, airport T 010.651.2422; Maggiore, Corso Sardegna 275 T010.839.2153, airport T 010.651.2467; Sixt, Via E. Ferri 30 T 010.651.2716, airport T 010.651.2111. Consulate US, Via Dante 2 T010.584.492. Doctor Call T 010.354.022 for a doctor on call (nights and hols). Ferries Any of the shipping agencies under the arcades along Piazza Caricamento can give current details of the long-distance ferries departing regularly to Bastia (Corsica), Olbia or Porto Torres (both Sardinia), Palermo (Sicily) and further afield to Tunisia and Spain. See p.138 for frequencies.
Football Genoa has two top-flight teams, Sampdoria and Genoa, the latter founded in 1893 as the Genoa Cricket and Athletic Club, originally for British expats only. Both teams play at the 36,000-capacity Luigi Ferraris stadium, behind Stazione Brignole. Bus #12 from Piazza Caricamento, and bus #37 from Stazione Principe pass near the stadium, or you can walk it in 15–20min from Brignole. Hospitals Ospedale Galliera, Mura delle Cappuccine 14 (T010.56.321), is the city’s most central hospital, situated just south of Piazza Vittoria, while Ospedale Evangelico, Corso Solferino 1/A (T010.55.221), is English-speaking. In an emergency, call T 118. Internet access Nondove, Corso Buenos Aires 2 (€4/hr), near Stazione Brignole. Pharmacies Ponte Monumentale, Via XX Settembre 115/R (T 010.564.430), and Farmacia Pescetto, Via Balbi 185/R (T 010.251.8777), are both open 24hr. Police Carabinieri T112; Polizia T113; coastguard police T010.27.771. Genoa’s police HQ is at Via Armando Diaz 2 (T010.53.661). Post office Via Dante 4B/R (Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat 8am–1.30pm; two desks with English-speaking staff). Sub-post offices are at both train stations, open same hours. Taxis Taxi Genova T010.5966. Train information T06.3000.
Narrow-gauge trains to Casella
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There’s no better way to get into inland Liguria than by taking the narrow-gauge trains which leave roughly every 90 minutes from Genoa’s Piazza Manin (reachable by bus #34 from Stazione Principe). They start off climbing through the Val Bisagno and coil northwards up to Casella, in a wooded dell at the foot of Monte Maggio, just over an hour from Genoa. Return fares to Casella are €2 (T 010.837.321, W www .ferroviagenovacasella.it). Casella is the trailhead for a number of hiking routes in the picturesque Valle Scrivia (W www.altavallescrivia.it). The town has a couple of hotels, of which the Magenta at Piazza XXV Aprile 20 is the better bet if you’re here in summer (T010.967.7113; June–Sept; 2 ); and there are half-a-dozen restaurants, including Camugin (T 010.967.0939; closed Mon) in front of the church, known for its fresh fish, and Chiara (T010.967.7040; closed Mon & Tues eve), with a wood-fired pizza oven.
The Riviera di Ponente
Some 30km along the coast from Genoa, SAVONA is the Ligurian coast at its most functional, a port city that was substantially rebuilt after a hammering in World War II. However, its ugly outskirts hide a picturesque medieval centre, and although you’re unlikely to want to stay the night, it is worth a look, especially when it’s taken over on summer Saturdays by a huge antiques and bric-a-brac market. The town’s main claim to fame is as the “Città dei Papi” (City of Popes), after local boy Francesco Della Rovere, who became Pope Sixtus IV in 1471, and his nephew Giuliano, who became Pope Julius II in 1503. Both men left a huge legacy, not least in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, which Sixtus IV built and Julius II famously commissioned Michelangelo to decorate. The train station is in the west of town, across the River Letimbro from the old quarter, which nestles in the curve of the old port and bristles with medieval towers. Via Don Minzoni, to the left of the station as you walk out, heads east across the river to where the main Via Paleocapa, lined with Art Nouveau arcades, continues east to the port. Savona’s tourist office is at Via Paleocapa 76 (summer Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm; winter Tues–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–7.30pm; T 019.840.2321, W www.turismo.provincia.savona .it). South of here, the atmospheric old quarter is dominated by the Duomo and its attached Cappella Sistina, a Baroque extravaganza commissioned by Sixtus IV in memory of his parents. Above the old town stands the huge Fortezza di Priamàr, built in 1528 by the Genoese as a sign of their superiority over the defeated Savonese, and these days it’s the city’s major sight, housing three museums: the Museo d’Arte Sandro Pertini (Mon 9.30am–12.30pm; €2.50), displaying modern Italian art collected by the one-time president of Italy; the Museo Renata Cúneo, with contemporary sculpture by Cúneo, a Savona local (closed for restoration at the time of research); and – best of the bunch – the Museo Storico Archeologico (summer Tues–Sat 10am–noon & 3–5pm, Sun 3–5pm; winter Tues–Fri 9.30am–12.30pm & 3–5pm, Sat 10am–noon & 3–5pm; €2.50), which has Greek and Etruscan bits and bobs along with some Islamic and Byzantine ceramics.
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Savona
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The coast west of Genoa, the Riviera di Ponente, is Liguria’s most built-up stretch, home to practical, unpretentious resorts, functional towns and the occasional attractive medieval quarter. In some ways it’s the ideal location for the perfect family holiday – the beaches are sandy and the prices low – and thousands of Italians come here every year for just that. Almost every settlement along the stretch of coast from Genoa to San Remo is a resort of some kind, and extremely busy during July and especially August, when prices are at their highest. But there are some gems among the run-of-the-mill holiday towns, not least the likeable resort of Finale Ligure, nearby Noli, with its alley-laden old centre, the medieval centre of Albenga and the grand old resort of San Remo, which can also make a good base for exploring sections of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (see box, p.120).
Noli Ten kilometres south of Savona, NOLI is the most attractive resort on this stretch of the coast, set in a shallow bay and topped by a castle whose battlements march down the hill to meet its enticing walled old quarter of small squares
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and alleys. There’s a crescent of part-pebble, part-sand beach, and just off the seafront you may want to peek in at the church of San Paragorio (Tues, Thurs & Sun 10am–noon & 6–8pm, Fri & Sat 6.30–10.30pm; €2), an ancient-looking Romanesque church that holds a beautiful vaulted crypt, some fifteenth-century frescoes and a thirteenth-century bishop’s throne. The tourist office is on the seafront nearby at Corso Italia 8 (Sun–Thurs 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm, Fri & Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–9.30pm; T 019.749.9003), not far from the Miramare hotel at Corso Italia 3 (T 019.748.926, W www.hotelmiramarenoli .it; 3 ), which has decent rooms within a stone’s throw of the sea; two minutes away, the smaller and slightly cheaper Triestina, in the old town itself at Via A. da Noli 16 (T 019.748.024; 3 ), is very welcoming, with simple, air-conditioned rooms and a pleasant garden out front. The Miramare’s restaurant, La Barcaccia, serves great seafood pasta and excellent pizzas in its garden.
Finale Ligure FINALE LIGURE, half an hour from Savona, is a full-on Italian resort, in summer crowded with Italian families who pack the outdoor restaurants, seafront fairground and open-air cinema, or take an extended passeggiata along the promenade and through the old alleys. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable place for all that, with a long sandy beach that stretches the entire length of the town and a busy, buzzy vibe that lasts long into the evening. Arrival, information and accommodation
The train station is at the western end of Finalmarina, the main part of town. The tourist office is on the seafront boulevard at Via San Pietro 14 (Sun–Thurs 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm, Fri & Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–9.30pm; T 019.681.019). There’s no shortage of hotels in town, as well as an excellent hostel and two convenient campsites. Hotels
Hostel and campsites
Giardino Via Pertico 49 T019.692.815, E giardinofi@libero.it. This seafront hotel is a good budget choice considering its central location, with a wide choice of rooms, some of which have shared bathrooms. 2 Medusa Vico Bricchieri 7 T019.692.545, W www.hotelmedusa.it. A good option if you want slightly more comfort and to be right on the beach, with a friendly welcome and recently renovated rooms – though the best ones with sea views are of course more expensive. 3 –4 Villa Gina Via Brunenghi 6 T 019.691.297, W www.villagina.it. Just two minutes from the station, Villa Gina has well-kept rooms with a/c and comfy public areas downstairs, looked after by a nice elderly lady. 2
Camping del Mulino Via Castello, Finalpia T 019.601.669, W www.campingmulino.it. Ten minutes’ walk up winding Via Castello, with great views and well-priced bungalows for rent too. Castello Vuillermin Via Caviglia 46 T 019.690.515, E finaleligurehostel @libero.it This HI hostel occupies an old castle high above the train station and has marvellous views out to sea. Mid-March to mid-Oct. Dorm beds €13. Eurocamping Via Calvisio 37, Finalpia T019.601.240, Wwww.eurocampingcalvisio.it. This well-run riverside site about 1500m inland is open April–Sept.
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The main part of town is Finalmarina, with a promenade lined with palms, and a small quarter of narrow shopping streets set back from the seafront, focused on the arcaded Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II in the middle. At the eastern end of town, Finalpia is a small district on the other side of the River Sciusa, with the twelfth-century church of Santa Maria di Pia (rebuilt in florid
There are lots of options for eating out, but the best ones need some hunting out. For picnic supplies, Chiesa, on the main street at Via Pertica 13, is a mouthwatering salumeria that has its own restaurant around the corner (see below). Ai Torchi Via dell’Annunziata 12 T 019.690.531. This refined restaurant occupies an ancient olive-oil factory in Finalborgo and serves expensive pasta and fish dishes with care and some style. Closed Tues except in Aug. Chiesa Vico Gandolino 12 T 018.692.516. A small, canteen-like place open lunchtime only and with a different menu every day – good food, and cheap at €5 for a primo and €7–9 for a main. Closed Sun. La Vecchia Maniera Via Roma 25 T019.692.562. A central and unpretentious place to eat local fish and seafood, but it’s popular – book in advance if you can, especially if you want to sit outside. Closed Tues–Thurs Oct–June.
Osteria La Briga Via Manie 2 T019.698.579. You can fill up on ortica (nettle) and black truffle lasagne at this excellent mid-priced restaurant up in the hills. Dinner only Sat, Sun, July & Aug. Patrick Via Roma 45 T019.968.0007. Good seafood pasta dishes and other local specialities. More expensive than La Vecchia Maniera, but its outside terrace is a lovely place to watch the world go by while you eat. Sotto il Santo Piazza Garibaldi 6 T 019.680.087. Up in Finalborgo, you can eat excellent pasta all ways and sit out on the main square. Closed Tues.
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Eating and drinking
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early eighteenth-century style) and the adjacent sixteenth-century cloistered abbey at its centre, while Finalborgo, perhaps the most attractive part of Finale, is a medieval walled quarter 2km inland, overlooked by bare rock-faces that are a favourite with free climbers who gather at Bar Centrale in Finalborgo’s Piazza Garibaldi at weekends. Finalborgo has quite a chi-chi air these days, and is a nice place to eat and shop – there are free buses from Finalpia (opposite the Hotel Boncardo) and the bottom of Via Brunenghi (near the station) every forty minutes in summer. Once there you can just wander its old streets, or take a look at the array of prehistoric remains and other artefacts unearthed locally at the Museo Archeologico di Finale in the cloisters of the convent of Santa Caterina (Tues–Sun: July & Aug 10am–noon & 4–7pm; Sept–June 9am–noon & 2.30–5pm; €4).
Albenga The small market town of ALBENGA is one of the most attractive places along this part of the coast, an ex-port whose estuary silted up long ago but left a wanderable old quarter, still within medieval walls and following the grid-pattern of its ancient Roman predecessor, Albingaunum. Arrival, information and accommodation
Albenga’s train station is 800m east of the old town; turn left outside the station and cross the road to follow Viale Martiri della Libertà to the modern centre’s Piazza del Popolo. In the centre of the square is the tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 4–7.30pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; T 0182.558.444). To stay, the Sole Mare, down on the seafront at Lungomare Colombo 15 (T 0182.51.817, W www.albergosolemare.it; 2 ), has 14 cosy rooms, about half of which have sea views. Otherwise, a ten-minute walk from the old town, up in the hills at Regione Miranda 25, Villa Maria (T 0182.559.091, W www.villamaria-bb.it; 2 ) is a fine, family-run B&B with gracious rooms (though bathrooms are not en suite), gorgeous grounds, a great pool and a couple of bikes for guests. There are lots of campsites nearby: try Europamare on the other side of the river at Via Michelangelo 7 (T 0182.540.824).
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The centre of town is Piazza San Michele, where you’ll find the elegant cathedral, the main part of which was built in the eleventh century and enlarged in the early fourteenth, and, just beyond, in the Torre Comunale, the Museo Civico Ingauno (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 3.30–7.30pm; €3.50) – home to an array of Roman masonry and fragments, including a patch of original mosaic floor, and, off to the right, the fifth-century baptistry. This ingenious building was built in the fifth century, and combines a ten-sided exterior with an octagonal interior. Inside are fragmentary mosaics showing the Apostles represented by twelve doves. Behind the baptistry to the north, the archbishop’s palace houses the diverting Museo Diocesano, Via Episcopio 5 (Tues–Thurs 10am–noon & 3–5pm, Fri & Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2.30–5pm; €3), where there are paintings by Lanfranco and Guido Reni. The archbishop’s partially frescoed bedchamber, next door to his private chapel, is also decorated with fifteenth-century frescoes. A few metres from here, at the junction of Via Medaglie d’Oro and Via Ricci, the thirteenth-century Loggia dei Quattro Canti marks the centre of the Roman town, while some 500m further north, beyond Piazza Garibaldi and along Viale Pontelungo, is the elegant, arcaded Pontelungo bridge. Built in the twelfth century to cross the river, which shifted course soon afterwards, it now makes an odd sight. In the opposite direction, five minutes’ walk beyond the train station, lies Albenga’s seafront and beaches – mostly sandy and with a couple of reasonable free sections. Eating and drinking
There are two good restaurants opposite each other on Via Torlaro, off Via Medaglie d’Oro: Da Puppo at no. 20 (T 0182.98.062) is a basic canteen-like trattoria with a great menu of cheap grilled staples – swordfish, prawns and even Argentinian steaks – while Vecchio Mulino, at no. 13 (T 0182.543.111), has pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven at lunch and dinner, as well as lots of other good local dishes. Another reliable option for lunch is San Teodoro, in a quiet location with outside seating at Piazza d’Erbe 1 (T 0182.555.990), serving salads and cold cuts and a short menu of pasta dishes and secondi, including a decent pasta with pesto, beans and potatoes.
The caves of Toirano
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The resort of Borghetto Santo Spirito is the transfer point for buses to the spectacular caves just outside the village of Toirano a few kilometres inland. The caves (daily: July & Aug 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; Sept–June 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; €10; tours last 1hr) are up a track a kilometre or so beyond the main part of the village, and are quite well developed as an attraction, with plenty of parking and a café and shop. They are well worth seeing, made up of two accessible complexes, connected by a man-made tunnel. The first, the so-called Grotta della Bàsura or “Witch’s Cave” was inhabited some 12,000 years ago, and you can see well-marked foot- and handprints to prove it, as well as the well-preserved bones of bears who lived here around 20,000 years earlier. Beyond, the Grotta di Santa Lucia Inferiore has some remarkable stalagmite and stalactite formations, including stone flowers and rare, rounded stalactites, while outside and above, the grotto and church of Santa Lucia Superiore holds a natural spring that was dedicated in the Middle Ages to St Lucy, patron saint of eyesight, after several miraculous cures were effected here. You too can have a drink – bottles are left out for the purpose. If you need more than a drink, Da Malin, on Toirano’s central Piazza Libertà, is good for lunch, with salads, focaccia and toasted sandwiches.
Alassio, Laigueglia and around
Some 30km west of Alassio is the provincial capital of IMPERIA, a sprawling settlement that was formed in 1923 when Mussolini linked twin townships on either side of the River Impero. Imposing Porto Maurizio, on the western bank, is the more likeable of the two, ascending the hillside in a series of zigzags from a marina and small beach, with its stepped old quarter dominated by a massive late-eighteenth-century cathedral and a series of Baroque churches and elegant villas. Quieter Oneglia, 2km east, is a more workaday place, devoted to fishing and the local olive industry, most manifest in local producer Fratelli Carli’s Museo dell’Olivo, behind the train station at Via Garessio 11 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm; free), which houses modern displays devoted to the history of Liguria’s green nectar. The tourist office is just back from the seafront at Viale Matteotti 37 in Porto Maurizio (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; T 0183.660.140), near to which you’ll also find the comfortable hotels Croce di Malta, overlooking the old harbour at Via Scarincio 148 (T 0183.667.020, W www .hotelcrocedimalta.com; 3 ), and Corallo at Corso Garibaldi 29 (T 0183.666.264, W www.coralloimperia.it; 3 ), where the rooms are light and airy and all have sea views.
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Imperia
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A fifteen-minute drive from Albenga is ALASSIO, with a spectacular fourkilometre fine-sand beach and a nice enough old centre just behind, though many people come here to take motorboat trips out to the Isola Gallinara island nature reserve, which has the remains of a Benedictine monastery. Expect crowds during high season. LAIGUEGLIA, the next resort west, is more appealing, an ex-fishing port with a nice old centre of porticoed streets and alleys that gives straight onto the town’s attractive sandy beach in places, although there are very few non-paying spots in the centre of town. Nonetheless it’s one of the more appealing resorts along here to kick back and relax for a while, and much quieter than Alassio. A short way inland from Laigueglia, the hilltop village of COLLA MICHERI was famously restored by the explorer and anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl, who lived here until his death in 2002.
San Remo Set on a broad sweeping bay between twin headlands, SAN REMO had its heyday as a classy resort in the sixty years or so up to the outbreak of World War II, when the Empress Maria Alexandrovna headed a substantial Russian community in the
A walk from Laigueglia A walk up the steps from the junction of Via Mimosa and the main Via Roma in Laigueglia takes you away from the coast through to the old Roman road near the top of the hill. From here, follow the strada privata into the woods and take the signposted path for about forty minutes to the ruins of the Castello di Andora and what is held to be one of the most important medieval monuments of the Riviera, the beautiful thirteenth-century church of Sts Giacomo and Filippo. Even if you never get to the church and castle, the walk along mule tracks between olive groves and woods is gorgeous. From the castle you can either backtrack or walk on through the outskirts of the village of Andora to its train station.
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The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri
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The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri is a long-distance high-level trail covering the length of Liguria, from Ventimiglia in the west all across the ridge-tops to Ceparana on the Tuscan border above La Spezia in the east – a total distance of some 440km. The mountains, which form the connection between the Alps and the Apennines, aren’t high – rarely more than 1500m – meaning that the scenic route, which makes full use of the many passes between peaks, is correspondingly easy-going. The whole thing would take weeks to complete in full, but has been divided up into 43 stages of between 2 and 4 hours each, making it easy to dip in and out of. Trail support and maintenance is good, with rifugi dotted along the path and distinctive waymarks (red-white-red “AV” signs). Unfortunately, access from the main coastal towns to most other parts of the Alta Via can be tricky, and requires juggling with route itineraries and bus timetables. A sample walk starts from point 26 – Crocetta d’Orero, on the Genoa–Casella train line: heading east from Crocetta, an easy route covers 7.8km to point 27, Colle di Creto (2hr 30min, and served by Genoa buses), with a diversion along the way to a lovely flower-strewn path in and around the deserted hamlet of Ciatti. Another sample walk, the very first stage of all, from Ventimiglia to La Colla, sidelining to Dolceacqua, is outlined on p.123. For information on the Alta Via, your best bet is the Associazione Alta Via dei Monti Liguri, which produces a full-colour wall-map of the route, along with detailed English descriptions and timings of all 43 stages (plus hotels and restaurants along the way). Books and an eight-pamphlet guide to the trail are on sale in bookshops. The same information is at W www.parks.it. Club Alpino Italiano offices in the major towns have information on rifugi, and the Federazione Italiano Escursionismo (FIE) publishes detailed guides to all the inland paths of Liguria.
town (Tchaikovsky completed Eugene Onegin and wrote his Fourth Symphony in San Remo in 1878). Some of the grand hotels overlooking the sea, especially those near the train station, are now grimy and crumbling, but others in the ritzier western parts of town are still in pristine condition, opening their doors to Europe’s remaining aristocrats season after season. San Remo is blessed with the Italian Riviera’s most famous casino, and remains a showy and attractive town, with a good beach and a labyrinthine old town standing guard over the palm-laden walkways below. The town has its fair share of events too. Every January the Festival dei Fiori (Festival of Flowers) sees flora-bedecked floats make their way through the town, displaying products by the area’s horticulturists. The five-day Festa della Canzone in early March is a journey to the dark heart of Italian pop – not for the faint-hearted – while July’s Campionato Mondiale di Fuochi d’Artificio, or World Fireworks Championship, is not for the jittery. Arrival, information and accommodation
San Remo’s modern underground train station is east of the town centre on Corso Cavallotti. It’s a five-minute walk east from here along Corso Garibaldi to the main bus station on Piazza Colombo, and the centre of town. The tourist office is on the other side of the town centre at Largo Nuvoloni 1 (Mon–Sat 8.30am–7pm, Sun 9am–1pm; T 0184.59.059, W www.visitrivieradeifiori.it). 120
Hotels Al Dom Corso Mombello 13 T 0184.501.460. This third-floor family-run hotel has large
and airy rooms and is in a great location, but it can be a bit noisy. You also need to like dogs. 1 –2
this is how they did things in times gone by, and is really the place to stay if you’re dressing for dinner and gambling at the casino down below. Great facilities – three restaurants and a vast, heated, salt-water swimming pool set in a tropical garden – and lovely, large, renovated rooms. 8
Campsite
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San Remo’s main artery is the largely pedestrianized Corso Matteotti, at one end of which is the town’s landmark Casinò (daily 2.30pm–3am, slots from 10.30am; Mon–Thurs free, Fri–Sun €7.50; T 0184.59.51, W www.casinosan remo.it), an ornate white palace with grand staircases and distinctive turrets that epitomizes the town’s old-fashioned fin-de-siècle charm. It’s a theatre too, and hosts San Remo’s long-running festival of popular song every March. Anyone can visit, as long you have your passport as ID, and, in the main part of the casino, a jacket and tie (the slot machines area is more informal); or you can tour the gaming rooms, roof garden and theatre on regular guided tours throughout the summer ( July & Aug Sat 9.30am; €3); entrance is from the side entrance to the theatre on the left. Beyond the casino, the palm-lined boulevard of Corso Imperatrice stretches along the seafront west of the centre. Just back from the seafront, the impressive onion-domed Russian Orthodox church is a manifestation of San Remo’s former Russian community (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm), built in the 1920s, though more impressive outside than in. In the other direction from the casino, Corso Matteotti leads east, lined with cocktail bars, gelaterie, cinemas and clothes stores, through the commercial centre of town. At Corso Matteotti 143, the Renaissance Palazzo Borea d’Olmo houses the Museo Civico (Tues–Sat 9am–7pm; free), with the usual array of local archeological finds, paintings and items relating to the Risorgimento (Garibaldi spent quite a bit of time in San Remo). However you might prefer to investigate the streets just above, where busy Via Palazzo gives way to a warren of narrow streets and eventually the mainly Romanesque Cattedrale di San Siro (Mon–Sat 8–11.45am & 3–5.45pm, Sun 7.30am–12.15pm & 3.30–7pm), decorated with unusual twelfth-century bas reliefs above each of its side doors and with a very ancient feel within; note the fifteenth-century processional black crucifix in the right aisle. Above here is La Pigna or “The Pine Cone”, perhaps San Remo’s most fascinating quarter, accessible up steep lanes north of Piazza Eroi Sanremesi and Piazza Cassini. Known for its kasbah-like arched passageways and alleys, it is remarkably ungentrified – and a stark contrast to the crisp and bustling modern streets down below. It’s fascinating to wander through its quiet streets and the views from the top are great. San Remo’s seafront is good for a wander. Following Corso Mombello from Corso Matteotti takes you down to the Porto Vecchio, full of high-end boats and lined with restaurants and cafés, while at the end of Corso Matteotti,
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Villaggio dei Fiori Via Tiro a Volo 3 T0184.660.635, W www.villaggiodeifiori.it. Facility-laden campsite about 2km west of town which has space for tents and caravans, plus chalets and bungalows for rent. Open all year but best to book in advance in high season.
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Alexander Corso Garibaldi 123 T0184.504.591, W www.hotelalexandersanremo.com. Five minutes’ walk from the train station, the rooms here don’t quite live up to the beautiful belle époque building, but they’re nice enough, the welcome is friendly, and there’s a pleasant garden out the front and parking at the rear. 2 Paradiso Via Roccasterone 12 T0184.571.211, W www.paradisohotel.it. If you want a quiet location above the town’s bustle, this is the place, with sunny, modern rooms and a secluded garden and pool. 5 Royal Hotel Corso Imperatrice 80 T 0184.5391, W www.royalhotelsanremo.com. A grand white presence above San Remo’s western seafront,
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opposite the tourist office, there are some small stretches of beach, as well as a larger stretch at the other end of town just east of the Porto Vecchio, not far from the train station. Eating and drinking L IGURIA
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Café Permare Via N. Sauro 42/44 T 0184.503.755. Cool, modern café-restaurant, good for lunch and dinner, with daily specials for €9–14, pizzas in the evening and relaxed terrace overlooking the port from which to enjoy them. There’s a trendy bar out the back, too. Cantine Sanremesi Via Palazzo 7 T 0184.572.063. Informal wine bar with a few tables outside that make a good lunch stop, with great focaccia, and lots of pasta
dishes and Ligurian specialities like potato and octopus salad. Piccolo Mondo Via Piave 7 T0184.509.012. Charming trattoria in an alley off Corso Matteotti, with tables outside and serving delicious Ligurian specialities such as stuffed anchovies and pasta with home-made pesto, beans and courgettes (€10.50). The owner speaks good English. No credit cards. Closed Sun & Mon dinner.
Ventimiglia and around Barely 6km east of the French border, VENTIMIGLIA is an unexceptional frontier town that enjoyed several centuries of minor prosperity thanks to constant border traffic. However, it’s been experiencing hard times since the 1995 Schengen agreement permitted unchecked passage between France and Italy and rendered the town’s role as stopover and refreshment point redundant. The town does make a good base for country walks though, especially as the hotels are cheaper than
The Valle Argentina
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There are any number of places along the coast to sample the delights of inland Liguria, but one of the best is the Valle Argentina, which heads inland from the bustling seaside resort of Arma di Taggia, 6km east of San Remo. Sleepy, crumbling Taggia, 3km north, is known for its sixteen-arched Romanesque bridge, the taggiasca black olive that is famed for giving top-quality oil, and a collection of work by Ligurian artists in the black-and-white stone convent church of San Domenico just outside the old walls. If you can, time a visit for the third Sunday in July, when the ancient festa of Santa Maria Maddalena culminates in a “Dance of Death” performed by two men, traditionally from the same two families, accompanied by the local brass and woodwind band. Some 25km further up the valley is the tiny village of Triora, reachable by bus direct from San Remo (4 services daily from the main bus station) – a trip worth doing in its own right, the road wending its way past small settlements with ancient bridges and farms linked to the main road across the valley by a rope-and-pulley system. Triora is almost within sight of Monte Pietradura, which stays snowcapped until April. In 1588, after an unexpected famine, two hundred women in this isolated community were denounced by the Inquisition as witches: rumour has it that thirty were tortured, fourteen were burned at the stake, and one woman committed suicide before she could be executed. Documents from the trial are preserved in the Museo Etnografico in the village, and a commemorative plaque adorns the overgrown Cabotina just outside the village, supposed scene of the witches’ gatherings. Also worth seeking out is the celebrated Sienese painter Taddeo di Bartolo’s Baptism of Christ (1397), hung in the baptistry of the Romanesque-Gothic Collegiata church. The village has a single hotel, the lovely Colomba d’Oro, Corso Italia 66 (T 0184.94.051, W www.colombadoro.it; 2 ), comfortably converted from an old monastery.
A walk to Dolceacqua
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those in other nearby resorts, and it has a lively modern centre, with a handful of good restaurants and delis, and an old town across the river, focused around the Romanesque Cattedrale dell’Assunta. Below here are some stretches of beach, while on the opposite side of the centre there’s a low-key Area Archeologica, where you can see some remains of a third-century Roman amphitheatre and baths (Sat & Sun 3–6pm; free). Ventimiglia’s train station is just north of the centre, off Via Cavour. If you want to stay, the pleasant Sea Gull, below the old town at Passeggiata Marconi 24 (T 0184.351.726, W www.seagullhotel.it; 3 ), has rooms with balconies and sea views and its own patch of beach; for food, you could try the Usteria d’a Porta Marina, overlooking the river at Via Trossarelli 22 (T 0184.351.650; closed Tues dinner & Wed). Some 5km from Ventimiglia along the coast, the village of MÓRTOLA INFERIORE is famed for the spectacular hillside Giardini Botanici “Hanbury” (April to mid-June daily 10am–5pm; mid-June to Sept daily 9am–6pm; Oct daily 10am–6pm; Nov–March Thurs–Tues 10am–4pm; €7.50) – reachable by taking bus #1a from Via Cavour (every hour, on the hour, no service 3–4pm). The gardens were laid out in 1867 by Sir Thomas Hanbury, a London spice merchant who set up home here, and are highly atmospheric, with hidden corners and pergola-covered walks tumbling down to the sea. A thirty-minute walk further west along the coast road – or a few minutes on bus #1a – is the frontier post.
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One of the best walks around Ventimiglia comprises Stage One of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri hiking trail (see box, p.120). The ten-kilometre route (an easy-ish 3hr romp) begins from Ventimiglia’s tourist office, and takes you through ridge-top vineyards to the medieval village of Dolceacqua, known for its red wine and olive oil. Buses run between Dolceacqua and Ventimiglia for those who don’t fancy the walk back.
The Riviera di Levante The coast east of Genoa, dubbed the Riviera di Levante, is perhaps more varied and beautiful than its counterpart to the west, but also not the place to come for a get-away-from-it-all holiday, with a series of towns and villages that once eked a living from fishing and coral diving but have been transformed by thirty years of tourism. That said, it’s a glorious and rugged stretch of coast, its cliffs and bays covered with pine and olive trees, and with a number of very appealing resorts. The footpaths that crisscross the headland of Monte di Portofino are a great way to get off the beaten tourist track, and the harbour towns each side – Camogli towards Genoa and Santa Margherita in the Golfo di Tigullio – are well worth a visit; and of course Portofino itself is an upscale resort of some renown. Other highlights include big, feisty resorts like Rapallo, and smaller, quieter places like Sestri Levante, while further east, the main road (though not the railway) heads inland, bypassing the laid back beach town of Lévanto and the spectacular Cinque Terre coast (now a national park and great, organized walking country). The road joins the train line again at the naval port of La Spezia, at the head of the Golfo dei Poeti, on either side of which Portovénere and Lérici (the latter almost in Tuscany) are very enticing spots.
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If you’re visiting Camogli on the second Sunday in May, you won’t be able to miss the Sagra del Pesce, preceded on the Saturday night by fireworks and a huge bonfire. This generous – and smelly – event has its origins in celebrating the munificence of the sea and retains its ancient resonance for Camogli’s fisherfolk even today. Thousands of fish are plucked fresh from the waves, flipped into a giant frying-pan set up on the harbourfront and distributed free of charge to all and sundry as a demonstration of the sea’s abundance (and in the hope for its continuation). In recent years the event has been beset by quibbles: bureaucrats have suggested that the frying pan – some four metres across – is a health hazard, and there have even been allegations that frozen fish is defrosted out at sea and then passed off as fresh. For all that, local enthusiasm for the festival hasn’t waned one bit.
Camogli CAMOGLI was the “saltiest, roughest, most piratical little place”, according to Dickens when he visited the town. Though it still has the “smell of fish, and seaweed, and old rope” that the author relished, it’s had its rough edges knocked off since his day, and is now one of the most attractive small resorts along this stretch of the coast. The town’s name, a contraction of Casa Mogli (House of Wives), comes from the days when voyages lasted for years and the women ran the port while the men were away. Camogli supported a huge fleet of seven hundred vessels in its day, which once saw off Napoleon. The town declined in the age of steam, but has been reborn as a classy getaway without the exaggerated prices found further round the coast. Camogli’s serried towers of nineteenth-century apartment blocks line up above the waterfront and a small promontory topped with the medieval Castello Dragone, on one side of which there’s a busy harbour, crammed with fishing boats, and on the other a section of pebble beach, backed by a long promenade of bars and restaurants. The train station is just inland and uphill from here, not far from which there’s a small tourist office at Via XX Settembre 33 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30 & 3–7pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; T 0185.771.066, W www.prolococa mogli.it). For accommodation, the Augusta, just above the harbour at Via Piero Schiaffino 100 (T 0185.770.592, W www.htlaugusta.com; 3 ), is a good-value family-run hotel with attractive air-conditioned rooms, all en suite; at the other end of the town centre, the Casmona, Salita Pineto 13 (T 0185.770.015, W www.casmona.com; 5 ), is housed in a seafront nineteenth-century villa and has light, airy rooms with sea views and balconies. Just out of town, the best choice is probably the A Villa Rosmarino at Via Ficari 38 (T 0185.771.580, W www.villarosmarino.com; 5 ), a five-minute walk from the train station – a boutique hotel in a nineteenth-century palazzo with seven cool white rooms hung with contemporary art, lush grounds and a pool. Not too far away, the Cenobio dei Dogi, Via Cúneo 34 T 0185.7241, W www.cenobio.it; 6 ), is the other upmarket alternative, a lavish hotel that was once the summer palace of Genoa’s doges, with its own park, beach, pool, tennis courts and restaurants. For food, try the excellent local focaccia, on sale in most bakeries, or wander along the waterfront and check out the fish on display at the various restaurants built out over the water. Try La Camogliese, Via Garibaldi 78 (T 0185.771.086); Rosa, at the other end of town at Via Jacopo Ruffini 13 (T 0185.773.411; closed Tues & Wed lunch); or – perhaps Camogli’s best choice – Nonna Nina, in San Rocco (T 0185.773.835; closed Wed), about ten minutes’ walk from the seafront up on the Portofino headland.
Portofino
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There’s no denying the appeal of PORTOFINO, tucked into a protected inlet surrounded by lush cypress- and olive-clad slopes, an A-list resort that has been attracting high-end bankers, celebs and their hangers-on for years, as evidenced by the flotillas of giant yachts that are usually anchored just outside. It’s a tiny place that manages to be both attractive and off-putting at the same time. Once you’ve surveyed the expensive waterfront shops and restaurants and perhaps climbed up to the castle, there’s little to do other than watch the day’s endless procession of tour groups do the same; bear in mind, though, that a couple of peaceful harbourside beers will leave you little change from €20. The village lies at the end of a narrow and treacherously winding road just 5km south of Santa Margherita, though bus journeys can take longer than the boats that shuttle regularly to and from all nearby ports in summer. To get a sense of Portofino’s idyllic setting follow the footpath which heads south from the harbour up onto the headland. Five minutes from the village is the church of San Giorgio, said to contain relics of St George, and a further ten minutes up is the spectacularly located Castello Brown (daily: summer 10am–7pm, winter 10am–5pm; €4), from whose terrace there are breathtaking views of a pint-sized Portofino. The castle, which dates back to the Roman period and now frequently hosts art and photography exhibitions, is named after its former owner, British Consul Montague Yeats Brown, who bought it in 1867 and set about transforming it. In 1870 he planted two pines on the main terrace for his wedding – one for him and one for his wife, Agnes Bellingham – and they are still a prominent feature today. The scenic path continues for a kilometre or so, down to the Faro (lighthouse) on the very tip of the promontory. The only way back is up the same path. Northwest from the village, steeply stepped paths head through vineyards and orchards to Olmi and on to San Fruttuoso (see p.126), while the best sandy beach is the sparkling cove at Paraggi, 2km back towards Santa Margherita on the coast road (buses will stop on request) – not exactly remote, but less formal than Portofino and with a small stretch of pebbly sand and a couple of bars set back from the water. Practicalities
Portofino’s tourist office is at Via Roma 35 (summer daily 10am–1pm & 3–7pm; winter Tues–Sun 10.30am–1.30pm & 2.30–4.30pm; T 0185.269.024).
Local boats to Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita During summer, dozens of boats serve points along the Tigullio coast and beyond. There are shuttles between Genoa’s Porto Antico and Camogli several times a day, taking an hour (€10). Golfo Paradiso (Via Scalo 3, Camogli; T 0185.772.09, Wwww .golfoparadiso.it) run regular ferries connecting Camogli with tranquil Punta Chiappa, ideal for a spot of swimming and basking in the sun, and San Fruttuoso – ditto (May–Sept at least hourly; Oct–April Mon–Fri 3 daily, Sat & Sun hourly; €8 to Punta Chiappa, €10 to San Fruttuoso). The most popular line shuttles between Rapallo, Santa Margherita, Portofino and San Fruttuoso, taking around fifteen minutes between each (summer hourly; winter 2 on Sun; T0185.284.670, Wwww.traghetti portofino.it). There are also lovely night excursions on the same route (July & Aug 2–8 weekly). The most you’ll pay for a one-way fare is €15.50. Boats also connect Camogli and the places above to the Cinque Terre (€15), and some continue to Portovénere and Lérici (€19). The best-value round-trip cruise ticket is the Super Cinque Terre, which allows stops of 1hr in Riomaggiore, 3hr for lunch in Monterosso and 1hr in Vernazza (June–Sept 2 weekly; €30).
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Accommodation is unsurprisingly expensive: luxury is really the point of Portofino. The Eden is probably the cheapest option, set within its own delightful gardens in the centre at Vico Dritto 8 (T 0185.269.091, W www.hotel edenportofino.com; 7 ), and very nice it is too; rates drop drastically midweek, out of season. But if money is no object, the place to stay is the Splendido, high above the village at Viale Baratta 16 (T 0185.269.551, W www.hotelsplendido .com; 9 ), with its fabulously lush grounds and stupendous views. There is another, smaller location – the Splendido Mare – for those who prefer to be down in the port. Eating out is similarly pricey, but it’s worth it to eat seafood at the Splendido’s Chuflay restaurant right on the harbour (T 0185.269.020; closed Mon & Tues), or at the chic Il Pitosforo, also on the waterfont (T 0185.269.020; closed Mon & Tues).
San Fruttuoso The enchanting thousand-year-old abbey of SAN FRUTTUOSO is one of the principal draws along this stretch of the Riviera, occupying a picturesque little bay at the southern foot of Monte di Portofino. The only way to get there is on foot or by boat, dozens of which shuttle backwards and forwards from practically every harbour along the coast during peak season. On summer weekends, the tiny pebble beach and church may be uncomfortably crowded, but out of season (or at twilight, courtesy of the occasional night cruise), San Fruttuoso is a peaceful, excellent place for doing very little. The Abbazia di San Fruttuoso (daily 10am–5.45pm; €7) was originally built to house the relics of the third-century martyr St Fructuosus, which were brought here from Spain after the Moorish invasion in 711. It was rebuilt in 984 with an unusual Byzantine-style cupola and distinctive waterside arches and later
Walks around Portofino
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The Portofino headland – protected as the Parco Naturale Regionale di Portofino (W www.parks.it) and encircled by cliffs and small coves – is one of the most rewarding areas for walking on the Riviera coast. At 612m, Monte di Portofino is high enough to be interesting but not so high as to demand any specialist hiking prowess. The trails cross slopes of wild thyme, pine and holm oak, enveloped in summer in the constant whirring of cicadas. From the summit, the view over successive headlands is breathtaking. Not many people walk these marked paths, maybe because their early stages are fairly steep – but they aren’t particularly strenuous, levelling off later and with plenty of places to stop. One of the best trails skirts the whole headland, beginning in Camogli, on the western side of the promontory. The path rises gently for 1km south to San Rocco (221m), then follows the coast south to a viewpoint above Punta Chiappa, before swinging east to the scenic Passo del Bacio (200m), rising to a ridge-top and then descending gently through the olive trees and palms to San Fruttuoso (3hr from Camogli). It continues east over a little headland and onto the wild and beautiful cliff-tops above Punta Carega, before passing through the hamlets of Prato, Olmi and Cappelletta and down steps to Portofino (4hr 30min from Camogli). There are plenty of alternative routes. About 1km south of San Rocco, an easier path forks inland up to Portofino Vetta and Pietre Strette (452m), before leading down again through the foliage to San Fruttuoso (2hr 30min from Camogli). Ruta is a small village 250m up on the north side of Monte di Portofino, served by buses from Camogli, Santa Margherita and Rapallo; a peaceful, little-trod trail from Ruta heads up to the summit of the mountain (2hr), or diverts partway along to take you across country to Olmi and on to Portofino (2hr 30min from Ruta).
SANTA MARGHERITA LIGURE is a small, thoroughly attractive, palm-laden resort, tucked into an inlet and replete with grand hotels, garden villas and views of the glittering bay. In the daytime, trendy young Italians cruise the streets or whizz around the harbour on jet skis, while the rest of the family sunbathes or crams the gelaterie. Santa Margherita is far cheaper to stay in than Portofino and less crowded than Rapallo, and makes a good base both for taking boats and trains up and down the coast and for exploring the countryside on foot.
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Santa Margherita Ligure
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became a Benedictine abbey that exerted a sizeable degree of control over the surrounding countryside. The Doria family took over in the sixteenth century, adding the defensive Torre dei Doria nearby, and the small, elegant church, with its compact little cloister and half-dozen Doria tombs. Off the headland, a 1954 bronze statue known as the Cristo degli Abissi (Christ of the Depths) rests eight fathoms down on the sea bed, to honour the memory of divers who have lost their lives at sea and to protect those still working beneath the waves. Taxi boats queue up to take you there. There are a handful of simple restaurants on San Fruttuoso’s beach serving sandwiches, pasta and steamed mussels, the largest of which – Da Giovanni (T 0185.770.047; half-board 5 ) – offers simple rooms, but you’ll need to book ahead.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Santa Margherita’s train station overlooks the harbour, from where it is a five-to ten-minute walk to the tourist office, right in the centre on the waterfront Piazza Vittorio Veneto (daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 1–8pm; T 0185.287.485). Buses stop right outside for Portofino, San Michele and Rapallo. Hotels Albergo Fasce T 0185.286.435, Wwww .hotelfasce.it. A good mid-priced hotel nicely located on a quiet side-street, with good-sized rooms and a panoramic roof-terrace. Free bikes for hotel guests’ use. 4 Annabella Via Costasecca 10 T0185.286.531. Simple hotel whose attractive rooms have shared bathrooms. 2 Continental Via Pagan 8 T 0185/286.512, W www.hotel-continental.it. One of a group of
hotels just above Santa Margherita, five minutes’ walk from the centre, this has spacious rooms with balconies and sea views, a lovely terrace and gardens which lead down to private bathing facilities. A treat for the price. 6 Lido Palace Via Doria 3 T0185.285.821, Wwww.lidopalacehotel.com. This impressive seafront hotel is right by Santa Margherita’s small beach and has spacious, modern rooms. 6
The Town and around
The town is in two parts: one set around a harbour and gardens and a small town beach; and a second, more commercial harbour around the headland. In between there’s a small castle, and behind this the shady gardens of the sixteenth-century Villa Durazzo ( Jan–March 9am–5pm; April & Oct 9am–6pm; May, June & Sept 9am–7pm; July & Aug 9am–8pm; free), which is host to art exhibitions and the like. There’s a decent if small town beach, but the best beaches are out of town, accessible by bus: south towards Portofino is Paraggi (see p.125), while to the north the road drops down to a patch of beach in the bay of San Michele di Pagana. In addition to its beach bars and crystalclear water, a Crucifixion by Van Dyck in the church of San Michele may prove an added incentive for a visit.
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Santa Margherita is a popular venue for watersports. The European Dive-In Center, Lungomare Milite Ignoto (T 349.211.8893, W www.europeandc.com), offers diving courses and excursions around the Portofino headland, and there’s a handful of places in the old harbour offering boats for rent. Walking trails cross the Monte di Portofino headland: marked paths from Santa Margherita to Pietre Strette (1hr 30min) and Olmi (1hr 40min) link in with the trails outlined in the box on p.126. Eating and drinking
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Dei Pescatori Via Bottaro 43 T0185.286.747. Nice place on the waterfront in the old port for traditional fish dishes such as fish baked with potatoes, olives and pine nuts (€16.50). Closed Tues, except in July and Aug, when it closes Mon & Tues lunchtime. L’Ancora Via Maragliano 7 T 0185.280.559. This excellent-value, mid-priced, traditional fish restaurant a block back from the waterfront in the old port is a great place to try
baked fish with potatoes. No outside seating. Closed Tues. Trattoria Baicin Via Algeria 5 T0185.286.763. A very good and reasonably priced family-run seafood restaurant, right in the centre of town, just back from the waterfront park, offering great Ligurian specialities such as swordfish with tomato sauce and olives. Closed Mon & Jan.
Rapallo RAPALLO is larger and has a more urban feel than anywhere else along the coast, a highly developed resort with an expanse of glass-fronted restaurants and plush hotels crowding around a south-facing bay. In the early part of the twentieth century it was a backwater, and writers in particular came for the bay’s extraordinary beauty, of which you now get an inkling only early in the morning or at dusk. Max Beerbohm lived in Rapallo for the second half of his life, and attracted a literary circle to the town; Ezra Pound wrote the first thirty of his Cantos here between 1925 and 1930, D.H. Lawrence stayed for a while and Hemingway also dropped by (but came away muttering that the sea was flat and boring). There’s a pleasant old town tucked away behind the seafront hotels, but otherwise the town’s landmarks are the large marina and the castle, now converted into an exhibition space, at the end of a small causeway. Despite the beauty of the bay, there’s not much to Rapallo’s beaches: there’s a free patch of shingle right by the castle, and some pay-beaches on the other side of the bay close to the Riviera. Arrival, information and accommodation
Rapallo’s train station is a five-minute walk from the sea on Piazza Molfino – just follow Corso Italia from the station and turn left at Piazza Cavour for the old town and seafront. The tourist office is at Lungomare V. Veneto 7 (daily 10am–1pm & 3.30–7pm; T 0185.230.346), and can provide details of diving outfits in the town and places to rent boats. Hotels
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Bandoni Via Marsala 24 T 0185.50.423, E
[email protected]. Housed in a fine old palazzo overlooking the sea, next door to the more expensive Miramare, this is the best bargain in town, if a little rough around the edges. 2 Excelsior Palace Via San Michele di Pagana 8 T 0185.230.666, W www.thi-hotels.com. Rapallo’s
flagship five-star hotel, at the western edge of town high above the shore, has splendidly lavish rooms, a state-of-the-art spa, and two refined, romantic restaurants. 8 Miramare Lungomare V. Veneto 27 T0185.230.261, W www.miramare-hotel.it. Pleasant hotel with spacious, spotless rooms overlooking the sea. 7
Riviera Piazza IV Novembre 2 T0185.50.248, W www.hotelrivierarapallo.com. Hemingway wrote Cat in the Rain while staying in this belle époque hotel overlooking the sea in 1923. Service is good and the rooms are nice with balconies and sea views, but the sense of history has been lost in their renovation. 5
Stella Via Aurelia Ponente 6 T0185.50.367, W www.hotelstella-riviera.com. An affordable and welcoming place, with a roof terrace and decent rooms, a couple of which have small balconies, though the busy main road outside can be noisy. 3
on tables outside under Rapallo’s medieval arcades. Pasta dishes €7–11, mains €15–20. Closed Wed. Il Castello Lungomare Castello 6 T 0185.52.426. Delightful restaurant and wine bar just past the castle, with a pleasant waterfront terrace and pasta dishes for €9–14 and mains for €14–18. Closed Thurs. O Bansin Via Venezia 105 T 0185.231.119. Affordable old-town restaurant; try their signature pasta dish with pesto, tomatoes and cream. Closed Sun lunch.
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Antica Cucina Genovese Via S. M. del Campo 133–139 T 0185.206.009. A couple of kilometres outside town, this place gives you the chance not only to sample some of the region’s best cuisine, but to learn how to cook it as well. There’s an emphasis on the vegetables and local produce of the area, with lots of vegetarian options, and the chefs give demonstrations on cooking everything from ravioli to cheese focaccia. Closed Mon. Da Mario Piazza Garibaldi 23 T 0185.53.736. Moderate prices, and great seafood served
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Eating and drinking
Sestri Levante Some 20km east of Rapallo, SESTRI LEVANTE is another large resort, though with a quite different feel to its brasher neighbours, its centre set on a narrow isthmus between two bays – the Bay of Fables, with a broad sandy beach decked with umbrellas, and the quieter Bay of Silence, a picturesque curve of sand overlooked by bobbing fishing boats. A former fishing village, the town has a relaxed feel, and is one of the nicer places to stay along this stretch of coast, with a number of decent hotels in its old quarter and within easy walking distance of the town’s beaches. The train station is a five- to ten-minute walk from the beach at the end of Viale Roma in the modern part of town, on Piazza Caduti di Via Fani. From here it’s a two-minute walk to the tourist office at Piazza Sant’Antonio 10 (daily 10am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; T 0185.457.011). For accommodation, try the Albergo San Pietro, at Via Palesto 13 (T 0185.41.279, E hotelsanpietro59@libero .it; 2 ), a simple hotel but in a great location just steps from the sands of the Bay of Silence. The Villa Jolanda, on the other side of the Bay at Vico Pozzetto 15 (T 0185.41.354, W www.villaiolanda.it; 2 ), has nice rooms with balconies, a shady terrace and garden for alfresco breakfasts, and overlooks the Due Mari, Vico del Coro 18 (T 0185.42.695, W www.duemarihotel.it; 5 ), which also has gardens and a pool, as well as fairly palatial rooms, and parking. For restaurants, try the Millelire, Via XXV Aprile 153, for focaccia and snacks at lunchtime, or the excellent Cantina del Polpo (T 0185.485.296), around the corner at Piazza Cavour 2, a cosy, dark-wood restaurant with covered terrace that does a good line in seafood and fish, mostly for €10–15, and has lots of daily specials. The canteen-like L’Osteria Mattana, Via XXV Aprile 36, is open evenings-only for Ligurian specialities (T 0185.457.633).
The Cinque Terre The stupendous folded coastline of the Cinque Terre (Five Lands) stretches between the beach resort of Lévanto and the port of La Spezia. The area is
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Walking in the Cinque Terre
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Most people come to the Cinque Terre to walk, but in order to walk the national park’s most popular route – the Blue Route (Sentiero Azzurro), or Path no. 2, from Riomaggiore to Monterosso – you have to invest in a Cinque Terre Card, which gives access to the path for one (€5), two (€8), three (€10) or seven days (€20). You can also get a version which includes the train for €8.50, €14.70, €19.50 and €36.50 respectively. The park’s Red Route (Sentiero Rosso), or Path no. 1, is free. The rudimentary tourist offices at each of the stations that sell the card can provide maps and information, and advise on itineraries. Despite its popularity, the Blue Route is well worth doing, out of season at least (11km; around 5hr); it hugs the shoreline between all five villages, offering spectacular scenery along the way. Another highly rewarding walk is Path no. 10, which leads from Monterosso station up through pine woods and onto a flight of steps that emerge at the Sant’Antonio church on the high point of the Punta Mesco headland (1hr), giving a spectacular panorama along the length of the Cinque Terre coastline. Note that most of the paths are unshaded and can be blisteringly hot in summer – make sure you wear a hat and carry a water bottle for even a short stroll. Walking shoes are advisable as paths are rocky and uneven at the best of times. Also, take note of weather forecasts in spring and autumn, as rainstorms can brew up rapidly and make paths treacherously slippery.
named for five tiny villages – Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore – wedged into a series of coves between sheer cliffs; their comparative remoteness, and the dramatic nature of their position on a stunning coastline, make them the principal scenic highlight of the whole Riviera. They get pretty crowded in summer, and all the villages have lost some of their character to the tide of kitschy souvenir shops and overpriced, under-quality restaurants, but outside August you should try to take in at least part of the area – the scenery is breathtaking and there is some lovely walking between villages. Cinque Terre practicalities
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Much of the area is now officially protected as the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre, the website of which, W www.cinqueterre.com, also operates a hotel booking service. You can also book apartments and hotels through Arbaspaa (T 0187.760.083, W www.arbaspaa.com), based in Manarola. You can get to and around the villages of the Cinque Terre by train, boat and on foot. There are regular slow trains between Lévanto and La Spezia that stop at every village. Boats from every company on the Riviera shuttle along this bit of coast all summer long. Be sure to confirm which of the four waterside villages you’ll be stopping at (Corniglia has no harbour), and specify if you want a one-way ticket, rather than the more usual round-trip. Hopping between Cinque Terre villages by boat is easy, with between five and eight a day (April–Oct; sporadic service in winter) going in both directions – although watch out for a lull between about noon and 2.30pm. The most satisfactory way to get around is on foot: there’s a network of trails (see box above) linking the villages along the coast or up on the ridge-tops, which offer spectacular views. However, the coastal path in particular can get uncomfortably crowded throughout the summer months. Trying to tour the area by car or motorbike truly isn’t worth the effort. All five villages have road access, although the streets are narrow and exceptionally steep. There’s also very little public parking. You’d do better to leave your vehicle in Lévanto or La Spezia.
Lévanto
The tourist office is right by the beach at the end of the main Via Roma at Piazza Mazzini 3 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 3–6pm, Sun 9am–1pm; T 0187.808.125), while the train station is ten-minutes’ walk inland from the seafront. Hotels Europa Via Dante Alighieri 41 T 0187.808.126, E
[email protected]. This charmingly old-fashioned hotel is one of the nicest places to stay in the centre of Lévanto. It’s not high on mod cons, but does the simple things well, with pleasant, clean rooms and a warm welcome. 3 Maremesco Via Vecchia Mesco 10 T 0187.808.154, W www.maremesco.it. A secluded and relaxing B&B on the footpath leading towards Monterosso; driftwood sculptures and beach-glass mosaics decorate the rooms and terraces, and the ten-minute walk up from town is rewarded by spectacular views – and, when it’s hot, a dip in Enrico’s hand-built plunge pool. 2 Stella Maris Via Marconi 4 T 0187.808.258, W www.hotelstellamaris.it. Nicest of the hotels, with a handful of opulent rooms in the nineteenthcentury Palazzo Vannoni, plus some others in a more modern annexe. 5
Hostel and campsites Acqua Dolce Via Semenza 5 T 0187.808.465. Right by the medieval walls of the old town, this is the most convenient of several decent campsites in and around the town. Closed mid-Nov to mid-Dec & mid-Jan to Feb. Albero d’Oro Via Albero d’Oro 6 T0187.800.400. The best of a grouping of campsites ten minutes’ walk from the centre, out past the train station.
Ospitalia del Mare Via San Nicolò T0187.802.562, Wwww.ospitaliadelmare.it. A clean, modern and central hostel. Dorm beds €21.
Eating and drinking Antica Trattoria Centro Corso Italia 4 T 0187.808.157. Plenty of room here, inside and out, at one of Lévanto’s longest-established restaurants. Excellent food and the best service in town. Bruna Piazza Staglieno 42 T 0187.807.796. With a few tables outside and a fairly bare interior, there’s nothing immediately alluring about this place, but the pizzas are absolutely top-notch and reasonably priced. Not surprisingly, you can’t book, and you may have to wait for a table. Da Rino Via Garibaldi 10 T 0187.813.475. In the heart of old Lévanto, this place has outside tables and another room across the street to take the overflow. Its menu is not especially adventurous but consistently hits the mark with great seafood pasta. Da Tapulin Corso Italia 10 T 0187.808.671. One of the cheapest and best places in town, with great pasta and mains, and pizzas too, but it’s ever-popular – you may have to book to be sure of a table, particularly if you want to sit outside.
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Practicalities
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Anchoring the westernmost point of the Cinque Terre, the unpretentious small resort of LÉVANTO feels quite cut off by Ligurian standards, but it has a nice sandy beach (attracting a surfy crowd), inexpensive hotels and good transport links that make it perhaps the best base for exploring the area. There are no real sights – only the Loggia Comunale on the central Piazza del Popolo, the blackand-white-striped church of Sant’Andrea across the road from here in the old part of town, and the odd surviving stretch of medieval wall – but the town is a pleasant and, for the most part, thoroughly Italian seaside resort.
Monterosso
Tucked into a bay on the east side of the jutting headland of Punta Mesco, MONTEROSSO is the chief village of the Cinque Terre. It’s the largest of the five – population 1800 – and perhaps the most developed, conjoined with the modern beach resort of Fegina whose shingle beach strings along the shore by Monterosso’s station; there’s a free section right by the station. Beyond the rocky outcrop at the end, atop which is the seventeenth-century Convento dei Cappuccini, the old village is a pleasant tangle of streets around the
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striped thirteenth-century church of San Giovanni Battista. Monterosso’s most recent claim to fame is as the home town of the Nobel Prize-winning poet Eugenio Montale; his Ossi di Seppia (Cuttlefish Bones) is a collection of early poems about his youth in the village. The coastal ferries stop in the little harbour, and there’s another, smaller stretch of shingle beach, again with a small free section. There’s a Cinque Terre tourist office in the station (daily 9am–7pm; T 0187.817.059), and a Pro Loco tourist office right outside at Via Fegina 38 (April–Nov daily 9.30am–noon & 4–7.30pm; T 0187.817.506). The top hotel in town is the Porto Roca, atop the rocks above Monterosso’s beach at Via Corone 1 (T 0187.817.502, W www.portoroca.it; March–Nov; 6 –8 ). The public areas are decorated in rather dingy style with suits of armour and huge drab pictures, but the bedrooms come with sea views, terraces and sun loungers. The Amici, in the old part of Monterosso at Via Buranco 36 (T 0187.817.544, W www.hotel amici.it; 5 ), is cheaper and has a garden with views of the sea, as well as a good restaurant, while the Villa Adriana is at the other end of town in Fegina, at Via IV Novembre 23 (T 0187.818.109, W www.villaadriana.info; 5 ), two blocks from the beach, and has parking. As for restaurants, try either Da Andrea, Via Vittorio Emanuele 3 (T 334.395.2045), which has a typically fishy Ligurian menu, or Il Moretto, around the corner at Piazza Colombo 1 (T 0187.817.483), which has more of the same but also branches out into more adventurous territory with swordfish and Tuscan steaks. Vernazza
A few headlands east of Monterosso, VERNAZZA, loveliest of the five villages, throws a protective arm around the only natural harbour on this rocky coast. The narrow lanes with their tall, colourful houses are typical of the area, and the cramped village is overlooked by stout medieval bastions and a watchtower, built by the Genoese after they’d destroyed the previous castle in 1182 to punish the locals for piracy. The village’s main street, Via Roma, leads down from the station to Piazza Marconi and the small harbour, where the Gothic church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia, with its elegant octagonal campanile, overlooks the small town beach. There are lots of places offering rooms – try Antonio e Ingrid, just off Via Roma at Via Carattino 2 (T 0187.812.183; 2 ), or one of the places on Piazza Marconi: Barbara at no. 30 (T &F 0187.812.398, W www.albergobarbara.it; 1 –3 ) has seven rooms, a couple with great views over the harbour, while the rooms at Gianni Franzi at no. 5 (T 0187.823.1003; 2 –3 ) are variable but some have good views. For food, Gianni Franzi’s restaurant is fine and has a terrace overlooking the harbour, or there’s the cheaper Osteria Il Baretto, Via Roma 31 (T 0187.812.381), which lacks a sea view but has excellent seafood pasta dishes. Corniglia
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CORNIGLIA is the smallest and remotest of the Cinque Terre villages, clinging to a high cliff 90m above the sea, its only access to the water (and the train station) via a long flight of steps. Floral-decorated squares fill the village, and the little Gothic church of San Pietro boasts an exquisite, marble rose window. There are no hotels, but there is a small, no-frills private hostel, the Ostello di Corniglia, Via alla Stazione 3 (T 0187.812.559, W www.ostellocorniglia.com; closed 1–3pm; dorm beds from €24), plenty of places offering rooms, and a handful of unremarkable restaurants. Oddly for a hilltop village, Corniglia stands out for its beach: on the southern side of the village’s rocky promontory is the Spiaggone
di Corniglia, a narrow stretch of pebbles that has relatively easy access from the footpath towards Manarola. Manarola
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MANAROLA is almost as pretty as Vernazza, its pastel-shaded houses either squeezed into a cleft in the cliffs or crowded impossibly up the sides of the prominent headland of dark rock. The station is on the other side of the headland, connected to the main part of the village by a tunnel, from where you can either turn left up the hill, past a small museum devoted to the local white dessert wine, Sciacchetrà, and eventually to the fourteenth-century church of San Lorenzo, or left around the main square down the main street to Manarola’s pretty harbour. You can swim from the rocks or the slipway down into the harbour – the water is lovely – but there’s no beach. Bear in mind also that a lot of people walk from Manarola to Riomaggiore on the paved Via dell’Amore (Lovers’ Path) – a twenty-minute jaunt that’s perhaps the least demanding trail in the national park; the path starts at the train station and you will almost certainly be asked for your Cinque Terre pass (see box, p.130) if you decide to take it. Manarola has a handful of excellent accommodation options, including the family-run Ca’ d’Andrean, just below the church at Via Discovolo 101 (T 0187.920.040, W www.cadandrean.it; 3 ), which takes pride in its service and airy rooms (some with balcony); breakfast is taken in the garden in summer. Down near the harbour, the Marina Piccola, Via Birolli 120 (T 0187.920.103, W www .hotelmarinapiccola.com; closed Nov to mid-Feb; 4 ), has 13 cosy rooms, half of which have sea views. There’s a small hostel, Ostello 5 Terre, Via Riccobaldi 21 (T 0187.920.215, W www.cinqueterre.net/ostello; closed 1–4pm; dorms €23), a clean, friendly place up the hill by the church of San Lorenzo, though you should book well in advance in summer. For eating options, try the restaurant of the Marina Piccola (see above), which offers a raft of reasonably priced fish dishes and has a terrace right on the harbour, or join the locals a few paces back up the hill at La Scogliera (T 0187.921.029; closed Sun), which serves a fine signature seafood spaghetti on its outside terrace. Riomaggiore
Lively RIOMAGGIORE is the easternmost of the Cinque Terre, and its relatively easy road link to the outside world makes it also the most crowded of the five. Nonetheless, its vividly multicoloured houses piling up the steep slopes above the romantic little harbour give the place a charm untempered by the café crowds, especially the higher you climb. Like Manarola, the train station is connected to the main part of the village by a tunnel (and to its upper town by a lift), which brings you out at the bottom of the main street. From here you can either go right under the rail track down to the harbour – where you can hire snorkels and kayaks, plus there’s a small stony beach just around the headland to the left – or left up the main street, which is home to the bulk of Riomaggiore’s rooms and restaurants. The only hotel is the pleasantly modern Villa Argentina, in a lovely spot in the upper part of town at Via De Gasperi 170 (T 0187.920.213, W www.villargentina .com; 4 ); they have parking and also rent apartments. Otherwise, there are three spotless simple rooms at the B&B Il Boma, Via C. Colombo 99 (T 0187.920.395, W www.ilboma.com; 2 ). For food, La Lanterna has a good, moderately priced pasta and seafood menu, and a great location at the harbour. Otherwise, try Ripa del Sole, in the upper town at Via De Gasperi 4 (T 0187.920.143; closed Mon),
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which serves unusual specialities such as pasta with rabbit ragù or lobster ravioli at very reasonable prices.
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After the beauty of the Golfo Paradiso and Golfo del Tigullio, and the drama of the Cinque Terre, Liguria still has a final flourish. Hard up against the Tuscan border is the majestic Golfo di La Spezia, an impressively sweeping panorama of islands and rough headlands renamed the Golfo dei Poeti in 1919 by Italian playwright Sem Benelli for the succession of romantic souls who fell in love with the place. Petrarch was the first; Shelley lived and died on these shores; Byron was another regular; and D.H. Lawrence passed the pre-World War I years here. The town at the head of the gulf is workaday La Spezia, a major naval and shipbuilding centre with a fine art gallery. Small resorts line the fringes of the bay, linked by buses that hug the twisting roads or boats that shuttle across the glittering blue water – Portovénere, sitting astride a spit of land to the southwest, and Lérici, on the southeastern shore, are both highly picturesque stopovers. La Spezia
Most travellers pass by LA SPEZIA or just use it to change trains. Its large mercantile port and the largest naval base in the country aren’t a particular draw for tourists, and the city doesn’t have a great many other tangible attractions. But it’s not a bad place by any means, and in the Museo Amedeo Lia, probably the finest collection of medieval and Renaissance art in Liguria, it has a genuinely compelling sight. La Spezia’s centre was pretty much rebuilt after World War II, but it’s pleasant enough, with a grid of streets opening out onto seemingly random squares and pockets of interest. Realistically priced hotels and restaurants make it a feasible if not especially picturesque base from which to explore both the Golfo dei Poeti and the Cinque Terre. Arrival, information and accommodation
The train station is a ten-minute walk from the town centre – head left out of the station, cross Piazza S. Bon and follow Via Fiume to Piazza Garibaldi and the pedestrianized artery of Via del Prione, which strikes through the heart of the centre to Via Chiodo and the waterfront. There is a branch of the tourist office on the station forecourt and a larger office at Viale Mazzini 47 (Mon–Sat 10am–1pm & 4–7pm & Sun 10–1pm; T 0187.770.900, W www .turismoprovincia.laspezia.it), while the bus station is on Piazza Chiodo, at the western end of Via Chiodo in front of the naval arsenal, where ATC buses from Tuscany arrive. Buses to Portovénere and Lérici depart either from the
Boats from La Spezia
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Dozens of boats make excursions throughout the summer – and on certain days in winter too – between La Spezia and just about every port along this coast. The most popular line is the one to Portovénere and the Cinque Terre, which leaves La Spezia about six times a day in season, taking 45 minutes to Portovénere and reaching Monterosso in just under two hours. The principal operator is Consorzio Marittimo Turistico “5 Terre–Golfo dei Poeti” at Via Don Minzoni 13, La Spezia (T 0187.732.987, W www.navigazionegolfodeipoeti.it); but you could also try Battellieri del Golfo at Banchina Revel (T 0187.21.010). Tickets cost €7 one-way to Portovénere, €11 to Manarola.
Sandwiched between the hills and the sea, La Spezia proved an early attraction to conquerors, with its strategic importance reflected in the number of Genoese castles that stud the hills. These were the town’s first fortifications, yet it took Napoleon to capitalize on what is one of Europe’s finest natural harbours and construct a naval and military complex at La Spezia early in the nineteenth century. The naval presence made the town a prime target in World War II and most of the centre had to be rebuilt following Allied bombing. It is now a largely pedestrianized grid of streets behind the palm-fringed harbourfront promenade of Viale Mazzini and busy Via Chiodo. At the western end are some lovely public gardens, a short distance from Piazza Chiodo and La Spezia’s raison d’être – the vast naval Arsenale, which was rebuilt after destruction in World War II. There’s no public admittance to the complex itself, but just to the left of the entrance the engaging Museo Tecnico Navale (Tues–Sat 8.30am–1.30pm & 4.30–9.30pm, Sun 9am–8.30pm; €1.55) contains battle relics, nautical models and suchlike. From the public gardens it’s a short stroll inland on Via del Prione to Piazza Beverini and the striped church of Santa Maria Assunta, which houses a polychrome terracotta by Andrea della Robbia, and, just behind, the lively, covered marketplace of Piazza Cavour. Further up Via del Prione, the Museo Amedeo Lia, Via Prione 234 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €6.50), houses paintings and sculpture from the thirteenth to eighteenth centuries in a restored seventeenth-century Franciscan convent. Among the highlights are Pontormo’s sharp-eyed Self-Portrait, a supremely self-assured Portrait of a Gentleman by Titian, and Bellini’s Portrait of an Attorney, as well as bronzes by Giambologna and Ammanati. The museum’s most celebrated item is the Addolorata, a half-statue in polychrome terracotta of a sorrowful Madonna by Benedetto da Maiano.
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The Town
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train station forecourt or from Piazza Cavour. Ferries to the Cinque Terre, Portovénere and Lérici leave from the waterfront Passeggiata Morin, at the far end of Via del Prione. Of La Spezia’s hotels, the Mary, Via Fiume 177 (T 0187.743.254, W www .hotelmary.it; 3 ), is the nicest of those handy for the train station, with bright modern rooms and a restaurant. In the old centre you could try the friendly and good-value Il Sole, Via F. Cavalotti 31 (T 0187.735.164, W www.albergoilsole .com; 3 ), with twelve simple, spacious rooms and a garden, or the city’s branch of the My One Hotel chain, Via XX Settembre 81 (T 0187.738.848, W www.myone hotel.it; 5 ), which couldn’t be more central and has slick, modern, if slightly characterless rooms.
Eating and drinking
La Spezia has no shortage of decent places to eat. La Pia on Via Magenta, just off Via del Prione, does good pizza and farinata to eat in or take away; Trittico, Via Cavalotti 64–66 (T 0187.735.509), also does good pizzas but is more of a proper restaurant, with outside seating and other dishes served throughout the day. Down near the seafront, between Via Chiodo and Viale Mazzini, Da Dino, Via Da Passano 19 (T 0187.736.157; closed Sun dinner & Mon), is a down-to-earth trattoria offering good-value menus of fish and other local dishes. Portovénere
The ancient, narrow-laned village of PORTOVÉNERE sits astride a spit of land on the very tip of the southwestern arm of the Golfo dei Poeti, blessed with
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breathtaking views, a memorably tranquil atmosphere and a string of three islets just offshore, each smaller and rockier than the last (see box below). Arrival, information and accommodation
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Portovénere’s tourist office, right in the centre of town, just back from the town beach at Piazza Bastreri 7 (daily 10am–noon & 4–8pm; T 0187.790.691, W www.portovenere.it), has a list of B&Bs. Next door is the least expensive and most convenient hotel, the Genio (T 0187.790.611, W www.hotelgenio portovenere.com; 3 ), which has nice if undistinguished rooms and free parking – a boon in Portovénere where parking spaces are at a premium. If the Genio is full, try the Locanda La Lucciola, five minutes’ walk along the waterfront towards La Spezia at Via dell’Olivo 101 (T 0187.790.145, W www.locandalalucciola .com; 4 ), which has lovely modern and bright rooms with sea views. Among more upscale choices, the pick is the Royal Sporting at Via dell’Olivo 345 (T 0187.790.326, W www.royalsporting.com; 6 ). It has pleasant, cool interior courtyards, spectacular views and a huge saltwater swimming pool, and is close to Portovénere’s shingly beaches. In a different vein, Locanda Lorena offers half a dozen simple rooms on the Isola Palmária, at Via Cavour 4 (T 0187.792.370; April–Sept; 4 ). The Town
The town’s characteristic rose- and yellow-painted tower-houses form a defensive wall along the photogenic harbourfront, Calata Doria, a busy waterside strip lined with cafés and restaurants and known as the Palazzata. Up above, the town’s main street, Via Capellini, runs parallel, and both continue to the end of the promontory to join at the thirteenth-century church of San Pietro, which was built over the ruins of a Roman temple to Venus, goddess of love (hence the town’s name), and occupies a fantastic location overlooking the sea. You can wander in and enjoy the view from the attached loggia, and afterwards head through the gate in the nearby stretch of wall down to the rocky cove of the Grotto Arpaia, a favoured spot of Lord Byron, who swam across the bay from here to visit Shelley at San Terenzo. To this day, the gulf has the nickname of the “Baía di Byron”. Back in the main part of town, steps lead up from Via Capellini to the bare twelfth-century church of San Lorenzo, and above here to the remains of the sixteenth-century Castello Doria (daily 10.30am–1.30pm & 2.30–6.30pm; €2.20), where you can amble around the ramparts enjoying yet more great views. The tiny but clean beach, right in the centre, is good for paddling, though not much else. Otherwise most people swim from the rocks off the Calata Doria, the rocky cove of Grotto Arpaia, or a couple of crowded shingle beaches 1–2km back towards La Spezia.
Boats to the islands Of the three islands that lie south of the peninsula, all but the nearest lie in a military zone and so can only be viewed from the water. Isola Palmária is the largest, just across the water, and regular boats shuttle back and forth for a cost of €2.50 one way, €4 return. Its star attraction is the Grotta Azzurra, which you can reach by boat, and a couple of beaches and places to stay (see above). Next is the Isola del Tino, a rocky islet marked with a lighthouse and the remains of a Romanesque abbey. Finally comes the even tinier Isola del Tinetto, also home to a monastic community in centuries gone by. 136
Eating and drinking
On the other side of La Spezia’s bay there is a string of small resorts, the largest and best known of which is LÉRICI, with its garden villas, seafront bars, trattorias and gift shops. There is one ferry a day from Portovénere to Lérici, at 12.30pm (€10 one way); the other way of getting there is by water taxi (€10 one way, €15 return; minimum €40 per trip). Piazza Garibaldi, behind the marina, acts as the bus station. The tourist office is at Via Petriccioli 82 (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 4–7pm; T 329.543.5033). At the top of town, the Castello di San Giorgio (Tues–Sun: July & Aug 10.30am–12.30pm & 6.30pm–midnight; mid-Oct to mid-March 10.30am–12.30pm; mid-March to June & Sept to mid-Oct 10.30am–1pm & 2.30–6pm; €5) has fabulous views across to Portovénere and the three islands and back towards La Spezia. Inside, apart from a Gothic chapel, much of the interior is given over to a museum documenting prehistoric dinosaur life in the area. Lérici’s two most pleasant hotels are centrally located: the Shelley & delle Palme at Via Biaggini 5 (T 0187.968.204, W www.hotelshelley.it; 5 ) and the Byron at Via Biaggini 19 (T 0187.967.104, W www.byronhotel.com; 5 ); both have suitably poetic sea views from balconied rooms. When it comes to eating, the outdoor places that line Lérici’s harbour provide an attractive setting as the sun goes down. Try Jeri, Via Mazzini 20, which has great-value €40 fish and seafood menus.
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As for places to eat, the atmospheric, century-old Antica Osteria del Carrugio, right in the heart of the old town at Via Capellini 66 (T 0187.790.617; closed Thurs), has affordable specialities – anchovies, sheep’s cheese and stuffed mussels (which are cultivated on poles in Portovénere’s harbour). At the far end of the waterfront, slick Le Bocche (T 0187.900.622; closed Tues in winter) is famous for its seafood salad, dressed with a pesto of anchovies, capers, pistachios and pine nuts, and has lots of fish and seafood dishes for €10–15 – not to mention a great location overlooking the channel between Portovénere and Palmária. If all you want is pizza, focaccia or farinata, try La Pizzacia, Via Capellini 94, which is mainly a takeaway but has a few tables on the street outside.
Travel details Trains Genoa to: Alassio (15 daily; 1hr 10min); Albenga (15 daily; 1hr–1hr 40min); Bologna (4 daily; 3–4hr); Camogli (every 20–30min; 30min); Finale Ligure (15 daily; 45min–1hr 40min); Imperia (10 daily; 1hr 30min–2hr); La Spezia (hourly; 1hr 10min–1hr 40min); Milan (hourly; 1hr–1hr 30min); Pisa (14 daily; 2–2hr 30min); Rapallo (every 20min; 30min); Rome (every 1–2hr; 5–6hr); San Remo (hourly; 1hr 45min–2hr 40min); Santa Margherita (every 20min; 20min–1hr); Ventimiglia (12 daily; 2hr).
Buses Finale Ligure to: Borghetto Santo Spirito (every 15min; 30min). La Spezia to: Lérici (every 10min; 20min); Portovénere (every 30min; 20min). Rapallo to: Santa Margherita (every 20min; 10min). Santa Margherita to: Portofino (every 15–20min; 15min). Ventimiglia to: Dolceacqua (14 daily; 18min). 137
Ferries See W www.moby.it, www.gnv.it and www.tirrenia .it for up-to-date schedules. Genoa to: Arbatax, Sardinia (2 weekly; 9hr); Bastia, Corsica (7 weekly; 4hr 45min); Olbia, Sardinia
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(7 weekly; 10–13hr); Palermo, Sicily (7 weekly; 20hr); Porto Torres, Sardinia (6–9 weekly; 9–11hr); Barcelona (3 weekly; 18hr).
3 L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
Lombardy and the Lakes 4 3
6
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CHAPTER 3
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Highlights
Tortelli alla zucca Tuck into a plate of delicious pumpkin ravioli topped with sage butter. See p.143 Roof of Milan’s Duomo Wander around the roof of the world’s largest Gothic cathedral with the best views of the city and the mountains beyond. See p.153 The Last Supper Leonardo da Vinci’s mural for the refectory wall of Santa Maria delle Grazie is one of the world’s most resonant images. See p.160
and design capital of the world. See p.166
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Certosa di Pavia This Carthusian monastery is a fantastic construction rising out of the rice fields near Pavia. See p.170
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Cycling round Mantua Rent a bike and explore elegant Mantua and the surrounding waterways. See p.173
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Lake Como Explore the most romantic of the Lakes by ferry. See p.186
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Città Alta, Bergamo Bergamo’s medieval upper town is an enchanting spot to spend an evening. See p.197
Shopping in Milan Steel yourself for the ultimate shopping trip in the fashion
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Shops in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Milan
3
L
|
ombardy, Italy’s richest region, often seems to have more in common with its northern European neighbours than with the rest of Italy. Given its history, this is hardly surprising: it was ruled for almost two centuries by the French and Austrians and takes its name from the northern Lombards, who ousted the Romans. As a border region, Lombardy has always been vulnerable to invasion, just as it has always profited by being a commercial crossroads. Emperors from Charlemagne to Napoleon came to Lombardy to be crowned king – and big business continues to take Lombardy’s capital, Milan, more seriously than Rome. The region’s people, ranging from Milanese workaholics to cosseted provincial urbanites, hardly fit the popular image of Italians – and, in truth, they have little time for most of their compatriots. This has fuelled the rise of the Lega Nord, a political party nominally demanding independence from Rome and successfully exploiting the popular sentiment that northern taxes sustain the inefficient, workshy south. Sadly all this economic success has taken its toll on the landscape: industry chokes the peripheries of towns, sprawls across the Po plain and even spreads its polluting tentacles into the Alpine valleys. Traffic, too, is bad, with many roads – autostradas and lakeside lanes alike – gridlocked at peak times. Nonetheless, Lombardy’s towns and cities retain medieval cores boasting world-class art and architecture, and the stunning scenery of the so-called Italian Lakes – notably lakes Maggiore, Como and Garda – never fails to seduce. Milan’s lowland neighbours – Pavia, Cremona, Mantua – flourished during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and retain much character. To the north, Lombardy is quite different, the lakes and valleys sheltering fewer historic towns, the cities of Bergamo and Brescia excepted. Reaching into the high Alps, lakes Maggiore, Como, Garda and their lesser-celebrated siblings have long been popular tourist territory with both Italians and foreigners. Although the western shore of Lake Maggiore and the northern and eastern shores of Lake Garda fall outside Lombardy (in Piemonte, Trentino and Veneto respectively), the Lakes region and its resorts are all covered in this chapter.
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Lombardy and the Lakes
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L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
142
SWITZERLAND
Venice
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Milan
Some history
| Milan
Milan first stepped into the historical limelight in 313 AD when Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, granting Christians throughout the Roman Empire the freedom to worship for the first time. The city, under its
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
The dynamo behind the country’s “economic miracle” in the 1950s, MILAN is an Italian city like no other. It’s foggy in winter, muggy and mosquito-ridden in summer, and is closer in outlook, as well as distance, to London than to Palermo. This is no city of peeling palazzi, cobbled piazzas and la dolce vita, but one where consumerism and the work ethic rule the lives of its well-dressed citizens. Because of this most visitors pass straight through, and if it’s summer and you’re keen for sun and sea this might well be the best thing you can do; the weather, in July and August especially, can be off-puttingly humid. But at any other time of year it’s well worth giving Milan more of a chance. It’s a historic city, with a spectacular cathedral and enough ancient churches and galleries to keep you busy for a week, but there are also bars and cafés to relax in, and the contemporary aspects of the place represent the cutting edge of Italy’s fashion and design industry.
Regional food and wine Lombardy is distinctive in its variations in culinary habits. For example, the sophisticated recipes of the Milanese contrast sharply with the more rustic dishes of the Alpine foothills and lakes. The latter are sometimes known as piatti poveri (poor food): devised over centuries, these employ imagination and often time-consuming techniques to make up for the lack of expensive ingredients. Pizzocheri, buckwheat noodles from the Valtellina valley, are a good example of this. Risotto alla Milanese, on the other hand, golden yellow with saffron, is Milan’s most renowned culinary invention – and, it is said, only truly Milanese if cooked with the juices of roast veal flavoured with sage and rosemary. Ossobuco (shin of veal) is another Milanese favourite, as is panettone, the soft, eggy cake with sultanas eaten at Christmas time. The short-grain rice used for risotto is grown in the paddy fields of the Ticino and Po valleys; other staples include green pasta and polenta. The latter – made from maize meal which is boiled and patiently stirred for around forty minutes, all the time watched with an eagle eye so it doesn’t go lumpy – is found all over northern Italy. It can be eaten straightaway, or else left to cool and then sliced and grilled and served as an accompaniment to meat. From Cremona comes mostarda di frutta (pickled fruit with mustard), the traditional condiment to serve with bollito misto (boiled meats). Stuffed pastas – for example, around the Po valley, ravioli filled with pumpkin – and veal eaten hot or cold in dishes like vitello tonnato (thin slices of cold veal covered with tuna mayonnaise) are also popular, as are wild funghi (mushrooms). Lombardy is also one of the largest cheese-making regions in the country. As well as Gorgonzola there are numerous other local cheeses: among the best known are parmesan-like Grana Padano, smooth, creamy Mascarpone (used in sweet dishes) and the tangy, soft Taleggio. Although Lombardy is not renowned internationally for its wines, supermarket shelves bulge with decent reds from the Oltrepò Pavese, and “Inferno” from the northern areas of Valtellina; while around Brescia, the Franciacorta area has earned plaudits for its excellent sparkling whites.
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145
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Milan: Arrival
charismatic bishop, Ambrogio (Ambrose), swiftly became a major centre of Christianity; many of today’s churches stand on the sites, or even retain parts, of fourth-century predecessors. Medieval Milan rose to prominence under the Visconti dynasty, who founded the florid late-Gothic Duomo, and built the nucleus of the Castello – which, under their successors, the Sforza, was extended to house what became one of the most luxurious courts of the Renaissance. The last Sforza, Lodovico, commissioned Leonardo da Vinci in 1495 to paint The Last Supper. Milan fell to the French in 1499, marking the beginning of almost four centuries of foreign rule, which included the Spanish, Napoleon and the Austrian Habsburgs. Mussolini made his mark on the city, too: arrive by train and you emerge into the massive white Stazione Centrale, built on the dictator’s orders. And it was on the innocuous roundabout of Piazzale Loreto that the dictator’s corpse was strung up for display in April 1945 as proof of his demise. Milan’s postwar development was characterized by the boom periods of the 1950s and 1980s: the city’s wealth now comes from banking and its position at the top of the world’s fashion and design industries. Politically, too, Milan has been key to Italy’s postwar history. A bomb in Piazza Fontana in 1969 that killed sixteen people signalled the beginning of the dark and bloody period known as the Anni di piombo, when secret-service machinations led to over a hundred deaths from bomb attacks. In the 1980s, corruption and political scandal once again focused attention on Milan, which gained the nickname Tangentopoli (“Bribesville”). The subsequent political reordering paved the way for Forza Italia, a political party founded by the self-promoting media magnate Silvio Berlusconi – Milan born and bred, he owns the football club AC Milan and has his power base in the city’s media conglomerates, as well as being Italy’s longest serving prime minister since World War II.
Arrival
146
Milan has two main airports – Malpensa and Linate – both used by domestic and international traffic. It is also within easy reach of several smaller airports: Bergamo-Orio al Serio (see p.195) is the best connected and the most convenient, while Verona-Brescia (see p.200) is a couple of hours’ drive away. Malpensa (T 02.232.323, W www.sea-aeroportimilano.it), 50km northwest near Lake Maggiore, is connected with Stazione Centrale, Milan’s main train station, by direct bus (every 20min 4.25am–11.15pm; 1hr; €7.50), and with Milano Nord station by a fast train, the Malpensa Express (every 30min 4.20am–11.25pm; 50min; T 199.151.152, W www.malpensaexpress.it; early-morning and evening services are replaced by a bus from Via Leopardi, just to the left of the station as you face it; €12 if bought beforehand, more if purchased on the train). Both destinations are on the city’s metro system: Stazione Centrale is termed “Centrale F.S.” and Milano Nord is “Cadorna”. A taxi from Malpensa to the centre takes about forty minutes and costs around €80 when the traffic is not too heavy. Buses also link Malpensa’s Terminal 1 to towns on nearby Lake Maggiore, including Stresa and Verbania (5 daily; reserve 48hr ahead on T 0323.552.172, W www.safduemila.com; €11; buy tickets at the Airport 2000 desk or on board). Gallarate train station, 5km from Malpensa airport by regular local buses, has trains to Stresa and Verbania, as well as Varese. Milan’s second airport, Linate (T 02.232.323, W www.sea-aeroportimilano.it), is 7km east of the city centre: airport buses connect it with the Piazza Luigi di
Savoia, on the east side of Stazione Centrale (every 20min 5.40am–9.30pm; 20min; €2, buy ticket on board). ATM city bus #73 runs from Linate (every 10min 5.30am–midnight; 25min) to the central Piazza San Babila (metro line M1) on Corso Europa; tickets cost the standard €1 and should be bought from the airport newsagent, or (with coins) from the ticket machine at the bus stop. A taxi to the centre will cost around €30. There’s also a twice-daily bus service between Linate and Malpensa (1hr 15min).
Information Milan has two tourist offices, plus smaller branches at Malpensa and Linate airports (daily 9am–4pm). The main city-centre office is at Piazza del Duomo 19/A, on the north side of the square, underground (Mon–Sat 8.45am–1pm & 2–6pm, Sun 9am–1pm & 2–5pm; T 02.7740.4343, W www.visitamilano.it). There’s another, smaller office in Stazione Centrale (Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 9am–1pm & 2–5pm; T 02.7740.4318), though at the time of writing its future location was unclear due to refurbishment works.
| Milan: Information • City transport
Most international and domestic trains pull in at the monumental Stazione Centrale, northeast of the city centre on Piazza Duca d’Aosta, at the hub of the metro network on lines M2 and M3. Other trains, especially those from stations in the Milan region – Bergamo, Pavia, Como and the western lakes – sometimes terminate at smaller stations around the city: Porta Garibaldi, Lambrate, Porta Genova or Milano Nord, all on M2, though some continue to Stazione Centrale. All international and long-distance buses, and many regional buses, arrive at the bus station in front of the Porta Garibaldi train station (M2), where you can get information and buy tickets from the Autostradale/Eurolines bus office (T 02.3391.0794; Mon–Fri 9am–6.30pm). If you’re arriving by car, try to avoid the morning and evening rush hours (approximately 7.30–10am & 4.30–7pm) when Milan’s outer ring road, the infamous Tangenziale, is often gridlocked. Signage is copious, if not always clear. The Tangenziale links to the autostradas for Bergamo, Brescia, Lake Garda and on to Venice (A4 east), Turin (A4 west), Varese and Lake Maggiore (A8), Lake Como (A9), Genoa (A7) and Bologna and the south (the A1 “Autostrada del Sole”). See p.149 for information on the Ecopass, Milan’s congestion charge and advice on parking in the city.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
By rail and road
City transport Milan’s street-plan resembles a spider’s web, with roads radiating out from the central pedestrianized Piazza del Duomo. The city centre is, however, fairly compact, and most of what you’ll want to see is within the first or second rings, each of them marking ancient city boundaries.
Public transport The four lines of the metro – M1 (red), M2 (green), M3 (yellow) and passante ferroviario (blue) – connect at the four main hubs of Stazione Centrale, Duomo, Cadorna and Loreto (see map, p.148). It’s also worth getting to grips with
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| Milan: City transport
the well-organized bus and tram system. Most stops display the route and direction, and as tickets for all three forms of transport are integrated you can hop on and off at will. Buses, trams and the metro run from around 6am to midnight, after which nightbuses take over, following the metro routes until 1am. For public transport enquiries (daily 7.45am–7.15pm; W www.atm-mi .it), the information offices at Duomo or Stazione Centrale metro stations have helpful, English-speaking staff. Tickets, valid for 75 minutes, cost €1 and can be used for one metro trip and unlimited bus and tram rides. They are on sale at tobacconists, bars and at metro station newsagents; most outlets close at 8pm so it’s best to buy a few tickets in advance, or a carnet of ten for €9.20. You can also buy a one-day (€3) or two-day pass (€5.50) at Stazione Centrale or Duomo metro stations. Remember to stamp your ticket when you enter the metro and board buses and trams, as inspections are common.
Bicycles Milan is a great city to explore on two wheels – much of the centre is pedestrianized or with one-way traffic; the only real worries are the uneven cobbles and the tram tracks. The easy-to-use, well-organized bike-sharing initiative, BikeMi, gives you economic use of the city centre’s fleet of bikes, located strategically by metro stations and main sights. The simple signing-up procedure is online, by phone or at ATM offices (in Duomo, Stazione Centrale, Cadorna or Garibaldi metro stations). There’s a registration fee of €2.50, payable by credit card only, for daily or weekly rental (maximum 2hr at a time; €0.50/30min).
Tours and taxis
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A hop-on, hop-off bus tour (W www.milano.city-sightseeing.it), with recorded English commentary, has two different routes departing from Piazza Castello (daily every 30min 9.30am–5.45pm; €20), while walking tours are arranged from the main tourist office. Taxis don’t cruise the streets, so don’t bother trying to flag one down. Either head for a taxi rank – on Piazza del Duomo, Largo Cairoli, Piazza San Babila and Stazione Centrale, among others – or phone (see p.168 for numbers).
Driving and parking
Accommodation
Hotels and B&Bs Antica Locanda dei Mercanti Via San Tomaso 6 T 02.805.4080, Wwww.locanda.it. Tucked away between the Duomo and the castle, this quietly elegant locanda offers individually decorated rooms; two even have their own roof terraces. Breakfast (not included) is served in the rooms. The Alle Meraviglie (Wwww.allemeraviglie.it), next door at no. 8, is run by the same people, with similarly bright, tasteful rooms. 5 –6 Antica Locanda Leonardo Corso Magenta 78 T 02.4801.4197, W www.anticalocandaleonardo .com. This discreet three-star is just steps away from The Last Supper and has light and airy rooms, some overlooking a pretty internal garden. Also convenient for the Malpensa Express and trains from Milano Nord. 5 –6 Ariston Largo Carrobbio 2 T 02.7200.0556, W www.aristonhotel.com. The best thing about this pleasant modern hotel is its position – within walking distance of the Duomo and the
Navigli – and the free bicycles. Rooms are a little cramped but all are en suite and a decent breakfast is included. 3 Bulgari Via Fratelli Gabba 7/B T02.058.051, Wwww.bulgarihotels.com. In a hidden corner of Brera, the city’s top hotel has all the Milanese style you could wish for and none of the attitude you might expect. Staff are charming, facilities impeccable and the terrace bar and garden are an absolute treat. Rooms start at around €450 per night depending on special offers. 9 Cavour Via Fatebenefratelli 21 T02.620.001, Wwww.hotelcavour.it. A business-oriented hotel in a great position between the Giardini Pubblici and the Quadrilatero d’Oro. Service is well judged and the comfortable, soundproof rooms (including a thoughtful hypoallergenic option) are good value. 5 Euro Via Sirtori 24 T02.3040.4010, Wwww .eurohotelmilano.it. Very good value a/c rooms with parquet floors are offered in this well-located hotel. There's also a small gym, a patio for alfresco
| Milan: Accommodation
Much of Milan’s accommodation is geared towards business travellers: rooms can be characterless, prices tend to be high and hotels are often booked up year-round. You’d be wise to reserve well ahead. The area around Stazione Centrale and across to Corso Buenos Aires is home to a good proportion of the city’s cheaper hotels, and although many cater to the area’s considerable red-light trade, you will be fine at any of the places we recommend. As you go towards the centre, prices rise but there are still good deals to be had in some of the side streets off the city’s main thoroughfares. As many of Milan’s mid-range hotels are rather dingy you may want to look into bed-and-breakfast accommodation; we have listed the best options below. Check W www.bed-and-breakfast.it for further ideas. English-speaking Friendly Rentals (T 0800.520.0373, W www.friendlyrentals.com) has a good selection of stylish apartments to rent (from three nights) throughout the city, which can make a fun, economical alternative for families or groups.
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Driving in the city is best avoided: the streets are congested and parking nigh on impossible. If you do drive, you need to know that the Ecopass – an initiative to cut pollution and congestion – is in force in the city centre (Mon–Fri 7am–7pm). You must buy the pass on the day of entry or up to midnight of the day afterwards; the fee is worked out on a sliding scale depending on your engine type. Payments can be made at authorized newsagents and tobacconists, through Intesa-SanPaolo ATMs, or, in English, by freephone (Mon–Sat 7am–8pm; T 800.437.437) or online (W www.comune.milano.it/ecopass). If your hotel is within the Ecopass area, ask reception if they have any special provision for guests. For parking you’re safest heading for a car park, which should cost around €2.50 per hour. Central options include Autosilo Diaz, Piazza Diaz 6 ( just south of Piazza del Duomo), and Garage Traversi, on Via Bagutta near Piazza San Babila.
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| Milan
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the weekend offers can be worthwhile, and the contemporary feel is streets away from Milan's usual unimaginative offerings. 4 Rovello Via Rovello 18 T02.8646.4654, Wwww .hotel-rovello.it. Close to Castello Sforzesco, the spacious en-suite rooms at this well-located hotel have a/c. You’re paying for the location, but rates may be negotiable in summer. Breakfast included. 4 Valley Via Soperga 19 T02.669.2777, Wwww .hotelvalley.it. A two-minute walk north of Stazione Centrale, this basic little spot is ideal if you’re catching an early train or arriving late at night. Most rooms are en suite and those at the back are pleasant and airy. 2
Hostels
| Milan: The City
La Cordata Via Burigozzo 11, off Corso Italia T02.5831.4675, W www.ostellolacordata.com. Clean and basic in a very good central location, this is Milan’s best hostel option by far. Bunks are in single-sex 6-, 10- or 16-bed dorms, each dorm with its own shower room; spacious twin rooms also available. There’s a large kitchen and communal room too. Metro Missori, or 4 stops on tram #15 from Piazza Fontana. Dorms €22, rooms 2 Ostello Piero Rotta Viale Salmoiraghi 1, corner Via Martino Bassi T 02.3926.7095, Wwww.hostel milan.org. An institutional-feeling HI hostel out in the insalubrious northwestern suburbs near the San Siro football stadium. Metro line 1 to QT8, then walk 200m straight ahead and the hostel is on your right. €19 including breakfast.
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breakfast and cheaper – but still pleasant – rooms available. 3 Foresteria Monforte Piazza Tricolore 2 T 340.237.0272, W www.foresteria monforte.it. These lovingly styled contemporary rooms and one suite are bright and airy as well as being beautifully kept and discreetly run. 5 Kennedy Viale Tunisia 6, 6th floor T 02.2940.0934, W www.kennedyhotel.it. A well-organized, friendly one-star with bright, simple rooms, some of which are en suite. Some rooms even have their own balconies overlooking the rooftops. 2 La Dolce Vite Via Cola de Rienzo 39 T 347.686.3144, W www.ladolcevite.net. A leafy home to the south of the centre offering three bright en-suite rooms and a lovely little garden, offering a true respite from the city. 3 London Via Rovello 3 T 02.7202.0166, W www.hotellondonmilano.com. A pleasant, family-run hotel in a good, central position. There’s a choice of singles and doubles with or without en-suite shower; the decor is unexciting but all rooms have a/c. 4 Mercure Milano Porta Venezia 1 T02.2940.0937, W www.mercure.com. One of the several branches of this French chain in the city, offering pleasant, comfortable rooms in a convenient location right on Porta Venezia. 6 Nhow Via Tortona 35 T02.489.8861, Wwww .nhow-hotels.com. This airy design-fest in the up-and-coming Porta Genova district is aimed at those coming to town on (fashion) business but
The City The obvious focal point of central Milan is Piazza del Duomo, which, as well as being home to the city’s iconic Duomo, leads on to the elegant Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and Piazza della Scala, home to the world-famous opera house. Heading northwest from Piazza del Duomo along the shopping street of Via Dante takes you to the imperious Castello Sforzesco and the extensive Parco Sempione beyond. North, the well-heeled neighbourhoods of Brera and Moscova are the haunt of Milan’s most style-conscious citizens. Here you’ll find the fine art collection of the Pinacoteca di Brera and, nearby, the so-called Quadrilatero d’Oro (Golden Quadrangle), a concentration of top designer fashion boutiques. Slightly further north is Milan’s most pleasant park, the Giardini Pubblici. Southwest of the Duomo, the shopping streets of Via Torino take you to the Ticinese district, a focal point at aperitivo time, and home to a couple of the city’s most beautiful ancient churches. Continuing south to the Navigli leads to the bar and restaurant area around the city’s remaining canals. West of the cathedral, the Museo Archeologico gives a taste of Roman Milan, while the basilica of Milan’s Christian father, Sant’Ambrogio, is a couple of blocks away. A little further west stands the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the adjacent refectory building, holding Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
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| Milan: The City 152
The hub of the city is Piazza del Duomo, a large, mostly pedestrianized square that’s rarely quiet at any time of day, lorded over by the exaggerated spires of the Duomo, Milan’s cathedral. The piazza was given its present form in 1860 when medieval buildings were demolished to allow grander, unobstructed views of the cathedral, and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II was constructed to link the piazza with the showy new opera theatre, La Scala. South of the piazza there are several minor gems hidden among the shops and offices in the shape of the tiny church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro and the seventeenth-century Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. The Duomo
Milan’s vast Duomo was begun in 1386 under the Viscontis, but not completed until the finishing touches to the facade were added in 1813. It is characterized by a hotchpotch of styles that range from Gothic to Neoclassical. From the outside at least it’s incredible, notable as much for its strange confection of Baroque and Gothic decoration as its sheer size. The marble, chosen by the Viscontis in preference to the usual material of brick, was brought on specially built canals from the quarries of Candoglia, near Lake Maggiore, and continues to be used in renovation today. The interior
The interior is striking for its dimension and atmosphere. The five aisles are separated by 52 towering piers, while an almost subterranean half-light filters through the stained-glass windows, lending the marble columns a bone-like hue that led the French writer Suarés to compare the interior to “the hollow of a colossal beast”. By the entrance, the narrow brass strip embedded in the pavement with the signs of the zodiac alongside is Europe’s largest sundial, laid out in 1786. A beam of light still falls on it through a hole in the ceiling, though changes in the Earth’s axis mean that it’s no longer accurate. To the left of the entrance you’ll find the remains of a fourth-century Battistero Paleocristiano (daily 9.30am–5.15pm; €2), where the city’s patron saint, Ambrogio, baptized St Augustine in 387 AD. At the far end of the church, the large crucifix suspended high above the chancel contains the most important of the Duomo’s holy relics – a nail from Christ’s cross, which was also crafted into the bit for the bridle of Emperor Constantine’s horse. The cross is lowered once a year, on September 14, the Feast of the Cross, by a device invented by Leonardo da Vinci. Close by, beneath the presbytery, is the Scurolo di San Carlo (daily 9am–noon & 2.30–6pm; €1), a crypt housing the remains of San Carlo Borromeo, the zealous sixteenth-century cardinal who was canonized for his work among the poor of the city, especially during the Plague of 1630. He lies here in a glass coffin, clothed, bejewelled, masked and gloved, wearing a gold crown attributed to Cellini. Borromeo was also responsible for the large altar in the north transept, erected to close off a door that was used by locals as a shortcut to the market. Adjacent to Borromeo’s resting place, the treasury (€3) features extravagant silverwork, Byzantine ivory carvings and heavily embroidered vestments. Here, too, is the Duomo’s most surprising exhibit: British artist Mark Wallinger’s haunting video installation Via Dolorosa. Commissioned by the diocese of Milan in a bold attempt to resurrect the role of the Church as a patron of the arts, it comprises a large screen showing the last eighteen minutes of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth, with 90 percent of the image blacked out, leaving just a narrow frame visible round the sides. To the right of the chancel, by the door to the Palazzo Reale, the sixteenthcentury statue of St Bartholomew, with his flayed skin thrown like a toga over his shoulder, is one of the church’s more gruesome statues, its veins, muscles and bones sculpted with anatomical accuracy and the draped skin retaining the form of knee, foot, toes and toenails.
The roof
Outside again, from the northwest end of the cathedral you can get to the cathedral roof (daily: mid-Feb to mid-Nov 9am–5.45pm; rest of year 9am–4.15pm; €5, or €7 with lift), where you can stroll around the forest of tracery, pinnacles and statues while enjoying fine views of the city and, on clear days, even the Alps. The highlight is the central spire, its lacy marble crowned by a gilded statue of the Madonna – the Madonnina, the city’s guardian – in summer looking out over the rooftop sunbathers. The charming little church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro (daily 8–11am & 3.30–6.30pm), off the busy shopping street of Via Torino, is a study in ingenuity, designed by Milan’s foremost Renaissance architect, Bramante, in 1478. Originally the oratory of the adjacent ninth-century church of San Satiro, it was transformed by Bramante into a long-naved basilica, by converting the long oblong oratory into the transept and adding a wonderful trompe l’oeil apse to the back wall. Pinacoteca Ambrosiana
| Milan: The City
Five minutes west, just off Via Torino at Piazza Pio 2, the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Tues–Sun 9am–7pm; €15; W www.ambrosiana.it) was founded in the early seventeenth century by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, who assembled one of the largest libraries in Europe (Mon–Fri 9.30am–5pm). The main draw though is his art collection, stamped with his taste for Jan Brueghel, sixteenthcentury Venetians and some of the more kitsch followers of Leonardo. Among many mediocre works, there is a rare painting by Leonardo da Vinci, Portrait of a Musician, a cartoon by Raphael for the School of Athens, and a Caravaggio considered to be Italy’s first still life. The prize for the quirkiest exhibit is shared between a pair of white gloves that Napoleon reputedly wore at Waterloo, and a lock of Lucrezia Borgia’s hair – displayed for safe-keeping in a glass phial ever since Byron (having decided that her hair was the most beautiful he had ever seen) extracted a strand as a keepsake from the library downstairs, where it used to be kept unprotected.
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Santa Maria presso San Satiro
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Leading off to the north of Piazza del Duomo is the gaudily opulent Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, a cruciform glass-domed gallery designed in 1865 by Giuseppe Mengoni, who was killed when he fell from the roof a few days before the inaugural ceremony. The circular mosaic beneath the glass cupola is composed of the symbols that made up the cities of the newly unified Italy: Romulus and Remus for Rome, a fleur-de-lys for Florence, a white shield with a red cross for Milan and a bull for Turin – it’s considered good luck to spin round three times on the bull’s testicles, hence the indentation in the floor. The galleria was designed as a covered walkway between the Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Scala to the north; nicknamed the “salotto” – or drawing room – of Milan, it used to be the focal point for the parading Milanese on their passeggiata. These days, visitors rather than locals are more likely to swallow the extortionate prices at the gallery’s cafés, which include the historic Zucca, with its glorious 1920s tiled interior at one end, and the newer, stylish Gucci Café – the label’s first foray into catering – at the other. Shops, too, are aimed at visitors to the city, with top designer labels sitting next to pricey souvenir outlets. Somehow, however, the galleria still manages to retain most of its original dignity, helped along by quietly elegant boutiques selling handmade leather gloves or carefully turned hats, and the handsome eighty-year-old Prada shop in the centre.
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L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Milan: The City
The main branch of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele leads through to Piazza della Scala, fronted by the rather plain Neoclassical facade of the world-famous Teatro alla Scala opera house, popularly known as La Scala (W www.teatroallascala .org). The theatre was commissioned by Empress Maria Theresa of Austria from the architect Piermarini and opened in 1778 with the opera Europa Riconsciuta by Antonio Salieri. Many of the leading names in Italian opera had their major works premiered here, including Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini, but it is Giuseppe Verdi who is most closely associated with the opera house and whose fame was consolidated here in 1842 with the first performance of Nabucco, with its perfectly timed patriotic sentiments. The post-World War II period saw another breathtaking roll call of top composers and musical performers – among them Schoenberg, Lucio Berio, Rudolf Nureyev and Maria Callas – while Toscanini, perhaps the most influential conductor of all time, devoted more than fifty years to the theatre. These days, however, La Scala is a bit at sea: no quality Italian composers have emerged for over eighty years, the theatre is plagued by internal political problems and the repertoire has become a touch predictable. To a great extent, the opera house is still the social and cultural centre of Milan’s elite and although protests in the 1960s led to a more open official policy on the arts in Milan, unusually for opera-going in Italy it remains as exclusive a venue as it ever was. Every year on the opening night – December 7, the festival of Milan’s patron saint, Sant’Ambrogio – when fur coats and dinner jackets are out in force, it is the target for demonstrations from political and social groups, ranging from animal rights’ campaigners to local factory workers complaining about redundancies. Tickets can be hard to come by, but if you want to experience one of the world’s most famous opera houses in action, there are numerous avenues; see p.165 for ticket information. Tucked in one corner of the theatre, a small museum (daily 9am–12.30pm & 1.30–5pm; €5) features costumes, sets, composers’ death masks, plaster casts of conductors’ hands and a rugged statue of Puccini in a capacious overcoat. A visit to the auditorium is included in the ticket, providing there is no rehearsal taking place; times when the auditorium is empty are listed daily outside the entrance to the museum.
The Castello Sforzesco and around
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Northwest out of Piazza Duomo, at the start of Via Dante, lies Piazza dei Mercanti, the commercial centre of medieval Milan. The square is dominated by the thirteenth-century Palazzo della Ragione, where council meetings and tribunals were held on the upper floor, with markets under the porticoes below. The stone relief on the facade above the arcade shows the rather forlorn-looking Oldrado di Tressano, the mayor who commissioned the building in 1228, astride his horse. Opposite, the striped black-and-white marble Loggia degli Orsi, built in 1316, was where council proclamations were made and sentences announced. The coats of arms of the various districts of Milan are just about visible beneath the grime left by Milanese smog. At the far end of the pedestrianized Via Dante, the Castello Sforzesco rises imperiously from Foro Buonaparte, a road laid out by Napoleon in self-tribute. He had a vision of a grand new centre for the Italian capital, designed along Roman lines, but he only got as far as constructing an arena, a triumphal arch and these two semicircular roads before he lost Milan to the Austrians. The arena and triumphal arch still stand half-forgotten behind the castle on the edges of the Parco Sempione, the city centre’s largest patch of green and once the castle’s garden and hunting grounds.
The Castello Sforzesco
The ticket office (Tues–Sun 9am–5.30pm; combined ticket €3), on your right as you enter the Corte Ducale, gives access to the Museo d’Arte Antica, a succession of rooms containing an extensive collection of ancient artefacts saved from the city’s churches and archeological excavations. More interesting, however, are the castle rooms themselves, especially the Sala delle Asse, designed by Leonardo da Vinci; his black-and-white preparatory sketches were discovered in the 1950s. After some rather dull armoury you reach the museum’s star exhibit: Michelangelo’s Rondanini Pietà, which the artist worked on for the last nine years of his life. It’s an unfinished but oddly powerful work; much of the marble is unpolished and a third arm, indicating a change of position for Christ’s body, hangs limply from a block of stone to his right. Upstairs, the Museo delle Arti Decorative exhibits furniture and decorative arts through the ages, including fascinating early works by the great twentieth-century Milanese designer, Gio Ponte. The Torre Falconiere (Falconry Tower) next door holds the castle’s art collection containing numerous paintings by Lombard artists such as Foppa and Bramantino, as well as minor Venetian works, including some Canalettos. The best are all grouped together in Room XIII and include Antonello da Messina’s St Benedict, originally part of a five-piece polyptych, of which two panels are in the Uffizi in Florence. Across the courtyard, in the castle cellars, are the smaller Egyptian collection, with displays of mummies, sarcophagi and papyrus fragments from The Book of the Dead, and the deftly lit prehistoric collection – an assortment of finds from the Iron Age burial grounds of the Golasecca civilization.
| Milan: The City
The museums
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With its crenellated towers and fortified walls, the red-brick Castello Sforzesco (W www.milanocastello.it) is one of Milan’s most striking landmarks. The result of numerous rebuildings, it was begun by the Viscontis, destroyed by mobs rebelling against their regime in 1447, and rebuilt by their successors, the Sforzas. Under Lodovico Sforza the court became one of the most powerful, luxurious and cultured of the Renaissance, renowned for its ostentatious wealth and court artists like Leonardo and Bramante. Lodovico’s days of glory came to an end when Milan was invaded by the French in 1499, and from then until the end of the nineteenth century the castle was used as a barracks by successive occupying armies. Just over a century ago it was converted into a series of museums. Ongoing restoration means that parts of the complex may be closed when you visit. The castello’s buildings are grouped around three courtyards: through the Filarete Tower (rebuilt in 1905, having been destroyed in the sixteenth century by an explosion of gunpowder) you enter the larger of the three, the dustylooking parade ground. It’s not until you’re through the gateway opposite that you begin to sense a Renaissance castle: this is the Corte Ducale, which formed the centre of the residential quarters and is now the home of the castle’s museums. The Rocchetta, to your left, was the most secure part of the fortress and is now used for temporary exhibitions. The gateway ahead leads to the Parco Sempione.
The Parco Sempione
The Parco Sempione can make a refreshing break from the city’s traffic-choked roads, but it does have its sleazy side and you might feel more comfortable visiting when the locals do – at the weekend, or early evening in summer. That said, there are several sights within the park itself, the most interesting of which is the Palazzo dell’Arte or Triennale (Tues, Wed, Sat & Sun 10.30am–8.30pm, Thurs & Fri 10.30am–11pm; exhibitions €8; W www.triennale.it), on the western reaches,
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at Viale Emilio Alemagna 6. The soaring lines of the building and its light, airy interior are reason enough for a visit, but the palazzo also holds good-quality temporary exhibitions of design, architecture and contemporary art, and the great Café Design (see p.163) overflows into the park in the summer. You might want to catch a bird’s-eye view of the city from the nearby Torre Branca (Wed 10.30am–12.30pm & 4–6.30pm, Sat 10.30am–1pm, 3–6.30pm & 8.30pm–midnight, Sun 10.30am–2pm & 2.30–7pm; €4; W www.branca.it/torre /dati.asp), designed by Gio Ponte on the occasion of the fifth Triennale in 1933, or keep children entertained at the Acquario Civico (Tues–Sun 9am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; free; W www.verdeacqua.eu), a pretty Liberty building with a small collection of tanks.
Brera and Moscova Due north of La Scala, Via Brera sets the tone for Milan’s arty quarter: small galleries nestle in the lanes surrounding the Accademia di Belle Arti and Pinacoteca di Brera. As you’ll notice from the café prices and designer styles of those who can afford to sit outside them, these cobbled streets are the terrain of the urban rich. Across Via Fatebenefratelli, the stylish bars and traditional trattorias continue north through the neighbourhood of Moscova, home to the offices of the Corriere della Sera newspaper. A good area for shopping and browsing, Corso Garibaldi, Via Solferino and Via San Marco lead up to the bastion in Piazza XXV Aprile, which marks the beginning of Corso Como, a trendy street full of bars, clubs and boutiques, which in turn leads up to the train and bus station of Porta Garibaldi. Pinacoteca di Brera
Milan’s most prestigious art gallery, the Pinacoteca di Brera, Via Brera 28 (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7.15pm; €5; W www.brera.beniculturali.it), was opened to the public in 1809 by Napoleon, who filled the building with works looted from the churches and aristocratic collections of French-occupied Italy. It’s big: your visit will probably be more enjoyable if you’re selective, dipping into the collection guided by your own personal tastes. There’s a good audioguide available (€3.50), although it does rather gallop through the highlights. Not surprisingly, most of the museum’s paintings are Italian and predate the twentieth century. Some later works are on display, including by Modigliani, De Chirico and Carrà (Room X), but it’s the Renaissance which comprises the museum’s core. There’s a good representation of Venetian painters – works by Bonifacio and, a century later, Paolo Veronese, the latter weighing in with Supper in the House of Simon (Room IX). The painting got him into trouble with the Inquisition, who considered the introduction of frolicking animals and unruly kids unsuitable subject matter for a religious painting. Tintoretto’s Pietà (Room IX) was more in tune with requirements of the time (the 1560s), a scene of intense concentration and grief over Christ’s body. Gentile Bellini’s St Mark Preaching in St Euphemia Square (Room VIII) introduces an exotic note: the square bustles with turbaned men, veiled women, camels and even a giraffe. There are also paintings by Gentile’s follower, Carpaccio – The Presentation of the Virgin and The Disputation of St Stephen (Room VI) – along with a profoundly moving Pietà (Room VI) by Gentile’s more talented brother, Giovanni. Look out also for The Dead Christ (Room VI), a painting by Giovanni Bellini’s brother-in-law, Mantegna: it’s an ingenious composition – viewed from Christ’s wrinkled and pierced soles upwards. One of Mantegna’s sons had died around the time he was working on this painting and it seems that the desolation in the women’s faces and the powerful sense of bereavement emanating from the work were autobiographical.
Quadrilatero d’Oro
| Milan: The City
The Roman thoroughfare Via Manzoni leads north from La Scala to Porta Nuova, one of the medieval entrances to the city forming one side of the Quadrilatero d’Oro. Comprising a few hundred square metres bordered by Via Montenapoleone, Via Sant’Andrea, Via della Spiga and Via Manzoni, the quarter is home to shops of all the big international and Italian fashion names, along with design studios and contemporary art galleries. This is Milan in its element and the area is well worth a wander if only to see the city’s better-heeled residents in their natural habitat. For more on shopping in Milan, see p.166.
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Later rooms hold yet more quality work, of which Piero della Francesca’s haunting Madonna with Angels, Saints and Federico da Montefeltro (Room XXIV) is the most arresting. But take a look too at Raphael’s Marriage of the Virgin (Room XXIV), whose lucid, languid Renaissance mood is in sharp contrast to the grim realism of Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus (Room XXIX), which is set in a dark tavern. Less well known but equally lifelike are the paintings of Lombardy’s brilliant eighteenth-century realist, Ceruti – known as Il Pitocchetto (The Little Beggar) for his unfashionable sympathy with the poor, who stare out with reproachful dignity from his canvases (Room XXXVI). Francesco Hayez’s Romantic-era The Kiss (Room XXXVII) is one of the most reproduced of the gallery’s paintings, but the artist’s fine portrait of the writer Alessandro Manzoni, in the same room, is far less saccharine. The collection ends with the unfinished Fuimaria (Room XXXVII) by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, a composition revealing the artist’s socialist ideals and an emerging consciousness of people-power – a theme that he returned to for The Fourth Estate (Il Quarto Stato).
Museo Bagatti Valsecchi
In a house linking Via Santo Spirito with Via Gesù 5, just off Via Montenapoleone, is the Museo Bagatti Valsecchi (Tues–Sun 1–5.45pm; €8; W www.museobagatti valsecchi.org). Built by brothers Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi in the nineteenth century in homage to Renaissance style, it served as a home for their family and their collections. All the rooms are richly decorated with carved fireplaces, painted ceilings and heavy wall-hangings and paintings. The fireplace in the drawing room perfectly illustrates the brothers’ eclectic approach to decoration: the main surround is sixteenth-century Venetian, the frescoes in the middle are from Cremona, while the whole ensemble is topped off with the Bagatti Valsecchi coat of arms. Modern conveniences were incorporated into the house but not allowed to ruin the harmony, so the shower in the bathroom is disguised in a niche, and the piano, which was not realized as an instrument until the eighteenth century, is incorporated within a cabinet. Look out also for touching domestic items, such as the nursery furniture for Giuseppe’s children. Museo Poldi Pezzoli
Halfway between La Scala and Porta Nuova, the eclectic Museo Poldi Pezzoli at Via Manzoni 12 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €8; W www.museopoldipezzoli.it) comprises pieces assembled by the nineteenth-century collector Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli. Much of this is made up of rather dull rooms of clocks, watches, cutlery and jewellery, but the Salone Dorato upstairs contains a number of intriguing paintings, including a portrait of a portly San Nicola da Tolentino by Piero della Francesca, part of an altarpiece on which he worked intermittently for fifteen years. St Nicholas looks across at two works by Botticelli; one a gentle Madonna del Libro, among the many variations of the Madonna and Child theme
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which he produced at the end of the fifteenth century, and the other a mesmerizing Deposition, painted towards the end of his life in response to the monk Savonarola’s crusade against his earlier, more humanistic canvases. Also in the room is the museum’s best-known portrait, Portrait of a Young Woman by Antonio Pollaiuolo, whose anatomical studies are evidenced in the subtle suggestion of bone structure beneath skin. The Giardini Pubblici L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Milan: The City
At the top of Piazza Cavour, on the northern side of Porta Nuova, lie the Giardini Pubblici (open dawn until dusk), Milan’s most attractive park. Designed by Piermarini shortly after he completed La Scala, the gardens stretch from Piazza Cavour over to Porta Venezia. Re-landscaped in the nineteenth century to give a more rustic look, the park, with its shady avenues, children’s play areas and small lake, is ideal for a break from the busy streets. Across the road at Via Palestro 16, housed in Napoleon’s former town residence, the Villa Reale (also called Villa Belgiojoso Bonaparte), is the Museo dell’Ottocento (Tues–Sun 9am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; free). Skip through the unexciting collection of nineteenth-century art and sculpture to the striking canvas Il Quarto Stato by Giuseppe Pellizza da Volpedo, a member of the self-styled scapigliati (“wildhaired”) movement of the late nineteenth century. Next door, the Padiglione d’Arte Contemporanea (PAC; Tues, Wed & Fri–Sun 9.30am–7.30pm, Thurs 9.30am–10.30pm; €6; W www.comune.milano.it/pac) is a venue for decent temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. Behind the art galleries, the Giardini della Villa Reale offer an urban oasis reserved for those with children under 13. With a small area of swings, lawns, shady trees and a little pond with ducks, turtles and giant carp, it makes a perfect bolthole. The Ticinese district
Leading southwest away from the Duomo, past the chain stores of Via Torino, the city takes on a different, slightly more alternative air. The main thoroughfare of the Ticinese district, the Corso di Porta Ticinese, has become a focus for fashion and is lined with small boutiques and bars. The area really comes into its own at aperitivo time, especially during summer when people spill on to the pedestrian streets from the numerous bars and cafés. San Lorenzo Maggiore
Towards the northern end of Corso Ticinese stands San Lorenzo Maggiore, considered by Leonardo da Vinci to be the most beautiful church in Milan. It is indeed a graceful building with a quiet dignity, somewhat at odds with the skateboarding and partying that goes on in the piazza outside. One of the four churches founded by Sant’Ambrogio in the city in the fourth century, it was built with masonry salvaged from various Roman buildings. The sixteen Corinthian columns outside – the Colonne di San Lorenzo – were placed here in the fourth century as a portico to the church. To the right of the altar, the Cappella di Sant’Aquilino (daily 7.30am–6pm; €2) was probably built as an imperial mausoleum. The lunettes in the Roman octagonal room hold beautiful fourth-century mosaics, which would originally have covered all the walls, while beneath the relics of Sant’Aquilino steps lead down to what is left of the original foundations, a jigsaw of fragments of Roman architecture. 158
Sant’Eustorgio
Heading south down Corso Ticinese, you come to Sant’Eustorgio, another fourth-century church, built to house the bones of the Magi, said to have been
Milan’s canals
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| Milan: The City
Improbable though it may seem, less than fifty years ago Milan was still a viable port – and less than a hundred years ago several of its main arteries – including Via Senato and Via San Marco – were busy waterways. It was only logical for Milan’s powers to want to harness the surrounding rivers for both trade and military purposes. In the twelfth century, the first canals linked irrigation channels and the various defensive moats of the city. Later, in 1386, the Naviglio Grande was opened, linking the city to the River Ticino and thus Lake Maggiore. It was Gian Galeazzo Visconti, however, who was really responsible for the development of the system, in the fourteenth century. Looking for a way to transport the building materials for the Duomo, especially marble from Lake Maggiore, he invited proposals for solving the various logistical problems involved: Leonardo da Vinci is said to have had a hand in the invention of a system of locks developed to compensate for the different water levels of the canals. Travellers were also seen on the canals: the ruling families of the North used them to visit one another, Prospero and Miranda escaped along the Navigli in The Tempest, and they were still plied by the Grand Tourists in the eighteenth century; Goethe, for example, describes the hazards of journeying by canal. A number of rivers and canals were added to the system over the centuries; the Spanish developed the Darsena to the south in 1603 and under Napoleon’s regime the Naviglio Pavese was made navigable all the way to Pavia and down to the River Po, and so to the Adriatic. During the Industrial Revolution, raw materials like coal, iron and silk were brought into the city, and handmade products transported out with an efficiency that ensured Milan’s commercial and economic dominance of the region. The process of covering over the canals began in the 1930s, to make way for the city’s trams and trolley buses. In the 1950s, desperately needed materials were floated in for reconstructing the badly bombed city but by the mid-1970s, only a handful of canals were left uncovered; the last working boat plied the waters in 1977. The best way to explore Milan’s waterways is on a relaxing boat trip, which run between April and mid-September when the canals are not being dredged or cleaned; for more information ask at the tourist office or check Wwww.naviglilombardi.it. Alternatively, grab some mosquito repellent, don a pair of walking shoes or rent a bike (see p.167) and head off down the towpaths into the paddy fields of Lombardy.
brought here by Sant’Ambrogio. It was rebuilt in the eleventh century, and in the twelfth century was virtually destroyed by Barbarossa, who seized the Magi’s bones and deposited them in Cologne’s cathedral. Some of the bones were returned in 1903 and are kept in a Roman sarcophagus tucked away in the right transept. A must-see while here is the Portinari Chapel, accessed round to the left of the main entrance (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €6). The beautiful chapel consciously recalls Brunelleschi’s San Lorenzo in Florence, with two domed rooms, the smaller one housing the altar. It has been credited with being Milan’s first true Renaissance building because of its simple geometric design; the mixture of Lombard terracotta sculpture and Florentine monochromatic simplicity makes an enchanting stylistic fusion. It was commissioned from the Florentine architect Michelozzi in the 1460s by one Pigello Portinari, an agent of the Medici bank, to house the remains of St Peter the Martyr, an unattractive saint who was excommunicated for entertaining women in his cell, then cleared and given a job as an Inquisitor. The Navigli
The southern end of Corso di Porta Ticinese is guarded by the nineteenth-century Arco di Porta Ticinese, marking the beginning of Milan’s canal – or Navigli –
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neighbourhood, once a bustling industrial area and these days a focus for the city’s nightlife. Much lauded by tourist guides, the area is scruffy and often disappointing in the harsh light of day. The best time to visit is in the evening when the quarter’s many restaurants and bars come alive, although the monthly Sunday antiques street-market (last Sun of month; closed July and August) also brings a vivacious focus to the waterways. South from the Darsena (the main goods dock), the Naviglio Grande and the Naviglio Pavese, respectively the first and last of the city’s canals to be completed, lead into the plains of Lombardy. This was once Milan at its grittiest. Some of the warehouses and traditional tenement blocks, or case di ringhiera, have been refurbished and become prime real estate but you’ll still find plenty of unreconstructed corners. Craftsmen and artists have moved in and although the overpriced craft and antique shops won’t hold your attention for long, a wander round the streets, popping into open courtyards, will give you a feel of the neighbourhood. Take a look at the prettified Vicolo dei Lavandai (Washerwomen’s Alley), near the beginning of the Naviglio Grande, where washerwomen scrubbed smalls in the murky canal waters. Five minutes’ walk west from the Naviglio Grande is Porta Genova, the train station for Milan’s southern outskirts. It is also the name given to one of Milan’s up-and-coming areas. Across the tracks from the train station, bars and restaurants have moved in and disused warehouses and factories are being reclaimed by photographers, fashion houses and designers. Giorgio Armani has an exhibition space and workshops here, as does Prada.
Santa Maria delle Grazie and around Due west from the Duomo, on Corso Magenta, stands the attraction that brings most visitors to Milan – the beautiful terracotta-and-brick church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, famous for its mural of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Originally built as a Gothic church by the architect Solari, it was part of the Dominican monastery that headed the Inquisition in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Soon after its completion, Lodovico Sforza commissioned Bramante to rework and model the Gothic structure into a grand dynastic mausoleum. Bramante promptly tore down the existing chancel and replaced it with a massive dome supported by an airy Renaissance cube. Lodovico also intended to replace the nave and facade, but was unable to do so before Milan fell to the French, leaving an odd combination of styles – Gothic vaults, decorated in powdery blues, reds and ochre, illuminated by the light that floods through the windows of Bramante’s dome. A side door leads into Bramante’s cool and tranquil cloisters, from which there’s a good view of the sixteen-sided drum the architect placed around his dome.
Booking for The Last Supper
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To visit The Last Supper, you need to book in advance, at least a month (or more) in summer and at weekends (English-speaking reservations line Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–2pm; T 02.92.800.360, W www.cenacolovinciano.org; viewing Tues–Sun 8.15am–6.45pm; €6.50, plus €1.50 obligatory booking fee). If it’s fully booked when you call, try going to the desk and asking about cancellations: people don’t always turn up for the early-morning viewings so it might be worth chancing your luck. At your allotted hour, once you’ve passed through a series of air-filtering systems, your fifteen-minute slot face-to-face with the masterpiece begins.
The Last Supper
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Milan: The City
Leonardo’s The Last Supper – signposted Cenacolo Vinciano – is one of the world’s great paintings and most resonant images. However, getting to see art of this magnitude doesn’t come easy (see box opposite). Henry James likened the painting to an “illustrious invalid” that people visited with “leave-taking sighs and almost death-bed or tip-toe precautions”; certainly it’s hard, when you visit the fragile painting, not to feel that it’s the last time you’ll see it. A twenty-year restoration has re-established the original colours using contemporary descriptions and copies, but that the work survived at all is something of a miracle. Leonardo’s decision to use oil paint rather than the more usual faster-drying – and longer-lasting – fresco technique with watercolours led to the painting disintegrating within five years of its completion. A couple of centuries later Napoleonic troops billeted here used the wall for target practice. And, in 1943, an Allied bomb destroyed the building, amazingly leaving only The Last Supper’s wall standing. A Last Supper was a conventional theme for refectory walls, but Leonardo’s decision to capture the moment when Christ announces that one of his disciples will betray him imbues the work with an unprecedented sense of drama. Leonardo spent two years on the mural, wandering the streets of Milan searching for and sketching models. When the monks complained that the face of Judas was still unfinished, Leonardo replied that he had been searching for over a year among the city’s criminals for a sufficiently evil visage, and that if he didn’t find one he would use the face of the prior. Whether or not Judas is modelled on the prior is unrecorded, but Leonardo’s Judas does seem, as Vasari wrote, “the very embodiment of treachery and inhumanity”. Goethe commented on how very Italian the painting was in that so much is conveyed through the expressions of the characters’ hands; the group of Matthew, Thaddaeus and Simon on the far right of the mural could be discussing a football match or the latest government scandal in any bar in Italy today. The only disciple not gesticulating or protesting in some way is the recoiling Judas who has one hand clenched while a bread roll has just dropped dramatically out of the other. Christ is calmly reaching out to share his bread with him while his other hand falls open in a gesture of sacrifice. If you feel you need any confirmation of the emotional tenor or accomplishment of the painting, take a look at the contemporary Crucifixion by Montorfano on the wall at other end of the refectory, not a bad fresco in itself, but destined always to pale in comparison with Leonardo’s masterpiece. Museo Archeologico and Roman remains
The Museo Archeologico, in the ex-Monastero Maggiore at Corso Magenta 15 (Tues–Sun 9am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; €2, free on Fri after 2pm), is worth a quick visit for a glimpse of the city’s Roman heritage. The displays of glass phials, kitchen utensils and jewellery from Roman Milan are compelling, and though there’s a scarcity of larger objects, you can see a colossal stone head of Jupiter, found near the castle, a carved torso of Hercules, and a smattering of mosaic pavements unearthed around the city. Perhaps the most interesting sight, though, is the 24-sided tower in the internal courtyard of the museum that was part of the Roman wall of the city. One block east from the museum, Via Brisa runs south alongside the ruins of the imperial palace of the Roman emperor Maximian, unearthed after World War II bombing. South of here towards Via Torino, the medieval plan of the streets belies the Roman origins of the neighbourhood, where remnants of ancient mosaics and masonry are incorporated into the current buildings.
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L’aperitivo
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An Italian custom that has been honed to a fine art in Milan is the aperitivo, or pre-dinner drink, usually taken between 6 and 9pm. As well as another opportunity to preen and pose, aperitivo-time – or “happy hour” as it is also called – is a boon for budget travellers: bar counters are often laden with hot and cold food, all of which is included in the price of your drink (somewhere between €3 and €10, depending on the establishment). Take a plate and help yourself, although if you’re really planning to fill up, it’ll go down better if you go back several times rather than piling your plate high. If you choose your venue wisely you won’t need to spend another penny on food all night. The food in most aperitivo bars winds up as the evening goes on: the lights dim and the volume of the music increases and you can settle in for the night. For reviews of the city’s best aperitivo bars, see p.165.
Sant’Ambrogio
| Milan: Eating
A few minutes’ walk southwest from Corso Magenta, the church of Sant’Ambrogio (Mon–Sat 7.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–9pm, Sun 7.30am–1pm & 3–8pm) was founded in the fourth century by Milan’s patron saint, St Ambrose. The saint’s remains still lie in the church’s crypt, but there’s nothing left of the original church in which his most famous convert, St Augustine, first heard him preach. The present twelfth-century church, the blueprint for many of Lombardy’s Romanesque basilicas, is, however, one of the city’s loveliest, reached through a colonnaded quadrangle with column capitals carved with rearing horses, contorted dragons and an assortment of bizarre predators. Inside, to the left of the nave, a freestanding Byzantine pillar is topped with a “magic” bronze serpent, symbolizing Aaron’s rod. Look, too, at the pulpit, a superb piece of Romanesque carving decorated with reliefs of wild animals and the occasional human, most of whom are intent on devouring one another. There are older relics further down the nave, notably the ciborium, reliefed with the figures of saints Gervasius and Protasius – martyred Roman soldiers whose clothed bodies flank that of St Ambrose in the crypt. Outside (entrance to the left of the choir) is Bramante’s unfinished Cortile della Canonica. The side that Bramante did complete, a novel concoction incorporating knobbly columns and a triumphal arch, was shattered by a World War II bomb and reconstructed from the fragments; the second side was added only in 1955. The adjacent Benedictine monastery that the Sforza family commissioned Bramante to restructure has housed the Università Cattolica since the 1920s.
Eating Milan has restaurants and cafés to suit every pocket and perhaps the widest choice of cuisine in Italy. Whether you’re looking for a neighbourhood trattoria, want to watch models pick at their salads or crave a bit of well-priced ethnic food, Milan has it all – usually within easy reach of wherever you’re staying. If you don’t fancy a sit-down meal, make the most of the Milanese custom of aperitivo (see box above) to curb your hunger. 162
Lunch and snack food There are street markets every day, except Sunday, scattered throughout the city, selling all the cheese, salami and fruit you need for a picnic lunch; a complete list
is given daily in the Corriere della Sera under “Mercati”. Alternatively, the mercato comunale in Piazza Wagner sells similar fresh produce but under one large, colourful roof. For supermarkets, some of the handiest are Standa at Via Torino 37, near the Duomo; Esselunga at Viale Piave 38, near Porta Venezia; and the overpriced Centro Commerciale in the Stazione Centrale (daily 5.30am–midnight).
Cafés and gelaterie Caffè Miani Piazza del Duomo 21. Opened with the Galleria in 1867, Caffè Miani, also known as Zucca in Galleria and Camparino, was where David Campari invented Milan’s famous sticky red drink. These days it’s both expensive and touristy, but the price of a coffee standing at the tiled bar is easier to swallow. Closed Wed. Chocolat Via Boccaccio 9. A small, modern bar beside Milano Nord station, with comfy sofas, offering thirty different chocolate-flavoured ice creams plus some refreshing fruit ones, too; there’s hot chocolate to die for in winter. Closed Sun morning.
| Milan: Eating
plate of nibbles or a full-blown meal to match. The top floor of this department store is divided between the city’s best breadmakers, mozzarella specialists, sushi chefs, experts in Milanese cooking and chocolatiers to provide a gourmet pick-and-mix to please all tastes. Choose a table on the terrace outside and you can almost reach over and feed the gargoyles on the Duomo roof. Luini Via S. Radegonda 16. A city institution that’s been serving panzerotti (deep-fried mini calzone) round the corner from the Duomo for over 150 years. Standing room only; grab a bench in nearby Piazza San Fedele if you want to eat sitting down. Closed Sun. Vecchia Latteria Via dell’Unione 6. Delicious vegetarian dishes are prepared by the owners in this tiny neighbourhood joint just off Via Torino. Closed Sun.
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Café Design La Triennale, Viale Alemagne 6 T 02.875.441. The chairs are all design classics in this spacious, informal place with windows overlooking Parco Sempione. The good lunchtime menu (noon–2.30pm) features light dishes such as a trio of smoked fish or quiche and salad; Sunday brunch is a relaxed, civilized affair that you’ll need to book for. In good weather, head outside to sip an aperitivo beside sculptures by the likes of De Chirico and Toyo Ito. Closed Mon. Da Claudio Via Ponte Vetrero 16. Mouthwateringly fresh sashimi and shellfish is served at the central bar amid the bustle of this traditional fishmonger on the edge of Brera. Lunch (noon–2.30pm) and aperitivo-time only (5–9pm). Closed Sun & Mon. La Rinascente Top floor, La Rinascente, Piazza del Duomo 12. A recent refurb finally allows you to enjoy one of the best views in town with a
Cova Via Montenapoleone 8. Fin-de-siècle surroundings set the scene for this elegant tearoom dating from the Napoleonic era. Discreet service and starched linen accompany the mouthwatering chocolate delicacies, although they don’t come cheap. Grom Via Santa Margherita 16. Practically opposite La Scala, the central branch of this specialist ice-cream chain serves up traditional flavours using top-quality organic ingredients. Sartori Piazza Luigi di Savoia. This legendary kiosk up against one side of the Stazione Centrale (by the airport buses) serves some of the city’s best ice cream, including avocado and lychee flavours. Closed Thurs.
Restaurants Predictably, the centre of Milan has numerous expensive, business-oriented restaurants, but usually, just round the corner, there is somewhere more atmospheric or better value. South of the centre, the area around the Ticinese and Navigli is full of restaurants and cafés, but this is a touristy area and quality is not always a priority. We’ve also included a couple of bargain places around the budget hotels near Porta Venezia. Anema e Cozze Via Palermo 15 T 02.8646.1646. This bright, lively Neapolitan spot is a good choice for tasty, informal meals. The pizzas are crispy, the seafood fresh and the flavoursome
salads make a pleasant change from pasta; expect to pay around €30 per person. Branches at Via Casale 7 and Via Orseolo 1 are equally recommended.
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| Milan: Drinking and nightlife
Joia Via P. Castaldi 18 T02.2952.2124. Well-established foodie haven, serving highly imaginative combinations of vegetables and fish. The lunchtime menu is good value, but in the evenings expect to pay around €70 per person. Closed Sat lunch, Sun & Aug. La Latteria Via San Marco 24 T 02.659.7653. This cosy trattoria is a favourite with the designer types of Moscova. Delicious home-made pastas and roast meats are served up by the owner; reckon on around €15 for a main course. Closed Sat, Sun & Aug. Le Vigne Ripa di Porta Ticinese 61 T02.837.5617. One of the best spots in the canal area for a relaxed meal. Good-value secondi cost around €15 – including fine vegetarian dishes – featuring regional influences from across the country.The cheese selection and the wine list are particularly impressive. Closed Sun. L’Osteria del Treno Via San Gregorio 46–48 T 02.670.0479. The welcome couldn’t be friendlier at this elegantly converted railworkers’ canteen. Many diners opt for the delicious house platters of cold meats or cheese (€12), although the pasta dishes are recommended, too. Closed all day Sat & Sun dinner. Oskar Via Palazzi 4. A popular restaurant with plenty of local atmosphere, serving fantastic-value pasta dishes in huge portions. Don’t be put off by
the voluble owners or the Mussolini memorabilia in the corners. Closed Sun. Pizza OK Via Lambro 15. Very busy pizzeria that serves some of the best – and biggest – pizzas in town. Huge choice of toppings and good prices that start at €4 for a margherita. Open until 12.30am. Closed Sun lunch. Torre di Pisa Via Fiori Chiari 21 T 02.874.877. An authentic Tuscan restaurant offering delicious antipasti (around €9) and great cuts of meat, in the heart of pedestrian Brera. Closed Sun. Tradizionale Ripa de Porta Ticinese 7 T02.839.5133. Tasty pizzas and mouthwatering fish dishes are on offer in the rustic atmosphere of this popular canalside joint. There’s another branch at Via de Amicis 26. Trattoria Milanese Via Santa Marta 11 T 02.8645.1991. An elegant but well-priced neighbourhood restaurant in the labyrinth of ancient streets a ten-minute walk west of the Duomo. Risotto and ossobuco take pride of place among all that’s best in Milanese cooking. Closed Tues. Warsa Via Melzo 16 T02.201.607. An Eritrean restaurant near Porta Venezia serving delectable bargain food; good variety of vegetarian dishes as well as various meat options. Around €15 for a full meal. Closed Wed.
Drinking and nightlife Milan’s diverse nightlife is centred on three main areas: the chi-chi districts around Corso Como and further south around Via Brera; Corso Sempione, which draws people after work for an aperitivo and keeps them there until the small hours; and the lively bars, restaurants and clubs of the Navigli and adjacent Ticinese quarter. The city’s clubs are at their hippest midweek: at weekends out-of-towners flood in and any self-respecting Milanese heads for the coast or mountains. Assuming you get in (this is Milan: dress to impress), you’ll be given a tessera or card to be punched for each drink you buy, there’s usually a minimum consumption and you settle the tab when you leave (around €25 minimum). For an antidote to all the preening, check out Milan’s healthy alternative scene, which revolves around the city’s many centri sociali – essentially squats, where committees organize cheap, sometimes free, concerts, film screenings and the like. They also contain bars and – often good – vegetarian restaurants. Check out the flagship Leoncavallo, Via Watteau 7 (T 02.670.5185, W www.leoncavallo.org), or find other centri listed in Il Manifesto newspaper.
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Bars See p.150 for details of the bars located in the fashion stores around the Quadrilatero d’Oro.
Clubs and music venues Blue Note Via Borsieri 37 W www.bluenotemilano .com. Jazz club in the alternative neighbourhood of Isola, just north of Porta Garibaldi station. Big names and a relaxed atmosphere make this place a top venue. There’s a small restaurant, as well as the bar. Gasoline Via Bonnet 11/A W www.discogasoline.it. Small, dark, funky club near the bars of Brera and Corso Como. Thursdays are particularly popular for the “Popstarz” electro-fest. Hollywood Corso Como 15 W www.discoteca hollywood.com. Long established as the place to
go (until dawn) if you want to be surrounded by beautiful people. Very Milanese but certainly no mould-breaker. Wed is gay party night (“Sodoma”). Rocket Via Pezzotti 52 Wwww.therocket.it. Free entrance and a great mix of music makes this intimate little club popular with a hip crowd, especially on Thursday evenings. Closed Sun. Scimmie Via Ascanio Sforza 49 Wwww.scimmie .it. Ticinese club that is one of Milan’s most popular venues, with a different band every night and jazzfusion predominating. Small and fun, with a decent restaurant – and a barge on the canal in summer.
| Milan: Opera, classical music and film
Cuore Via G. Mora 3. Hidden away down a side street opposite San Lorenzo alle Colonne, this cool, friendly bar is well worth including in your night out. Good music with occasional live bands and DJs set the mixed crowd at their ease. Gattopardo Café Via Piero della Francesca 47. This ultra-fashionable spot, located in a deconsecrated church, is decked out in homage to Visconti’s film The Leopard. It opens at 6pm and the door policy gets stricter after 10.30pm when the extensive aperitivo buffet is cleared away and the DJ turns up the music. Closed Mon. Le Biciclette Conca del Naviglio 10. Smart young things prop up the bar in this swish, modern joint in a leafy street near the Navigli. The definitive aperitivo bar. Lelephante Via Melzo 22. Cocktails are the speciality at this good-time bar popular with a mixed crowd. Hardly a poseur in sight. Roialto Via Piero della Francesca 55. This huge converted garage on various levels is done out in every conceivable style from 1930s colonial to chill-out lounge. Closed Mon.
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Atomic Via Felice Casati 24. Refreshing spot just north of Porta Venezia where you can have an after-dinner drink and a dance in a cool but relaxed atmosphere – most un-Milanese. Closed Mon & Aug. Bar Bianco Parco Sempione. Right in the heart of the park, this unassuming café kicks into action on summer nights as a late-night bar with thumping music. Closed Mon. Bar Jamaica Via Brera 32. This bar, made famous by the Arte Povera set of the 1950s, is right in the heart of Brera. Pop in for a coffee or snack during the day or keep drinking well into the early hours. Bhangrabar Corso Sempione 1. Opposite the Arco della Pace, this Indian-themed bar is a trendy option at aperitivo-time (6.30–9pm) or later, as the DJs crank up the latest electronic or world music. Corso Como 10 The bar is the best bit of this complex of boutiques, exhibition space, restaurant and a courtyard café-bar. Prices are extortionate but the atmosphere is very chic.
Opera, classical music and film Milan’s La Scala, Via dei Filodrammatici 2, is one of the world’s most prestigious opera houses, staging opera from early December to July. It also puts on some classical concerts and ballet between September and November (occasionally in the less atmospheric Teatro Arcimboldi, located outside the city centre). Tickets cost about €60 on average – and sell out months in advance. Buy by phone or online (T 02.860.775, W www.teatroallascala.org), or in person at the Central Box Office, Galleria del Sagrato, underground in the corridors of Duomo metro station (Sept–July daily noon–6pm). A number of tickets for each performance are set aside for sale on the day. Sound and Motion Pictures (W www.spaziocinema.info) shows original-language films at the following cinemas: Anteo, Via Milazzo 9; Arcobaleno, Viale Tunisia 11; and Mexico, Via Savona 57.
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Shopping
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Milan is synonymous with shopping. If your pockets are not deep enough to tackle the big-name designer boutiques of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele you could always rummage through last season’s leftovers at the many factory outlets around town, or check out the city’s wide range of medium- and budget-range clothes shops. Milan also excels in furniture and design, with showrooms from the world’s top companies, plus a handful of shops offering a selection of brands and labels under one roof. Most shops open Tuesday to Saturday (10am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm), plus Monday afternoons, although some larger places also stay open at lunchtime and on Sunday afternoons. The summer sale usually lasts through July and August, the winter one around mid-January to mid-February. La Rinascente (W www.rinascente.it) on Piazza Duomo has had a revamp in recent years and has become Milan’s best one-stop shop: each department is divided up into boutiques so browsing among the designer goods, from bed linen to bridal wear, toasters to top-quality togs is a joy. The top-floor food hall is a great refuelling stop (see p.163).
| Milan: Shopping
Fashion Milan’s top-name fashion stores are mainly concentrated in three areas. The Quadrilatero d’Oro – Via Montenapoleone, Via della Spiga and around – is the place for Versace, Prada et al. Corso di Porta Ticinese houses funkier, more youth-oriented shops – independents as well as global names like Diesel, Carhartt and Stussy. Head to Corso Vittorio Emanuele or Via Torino for large branches of Italian mid-range chains, including Max Mara, Benetton and Stefanel, plus H&M and Zara. Designer
Below is just a taster of what Milan has to offer in terms of the top-label shopping experience. These days the concept of a shop is being extended further and further: in-house cafés are springing up, as are exhibition spaces, spas, barbers and even gyms.
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Dolce & Gabbana Menswear at Corso Venezia 15. Go through to the courtyard on the ground floor of this eighteenth-century palazzo to find a wonderful space dedicated to enhancing your shopping experience. There’s an old-fashioned barber’s, a small beautican’s and the oh-so stylish Bar Martini. Womenswear at Via della Spiga 26; D&G line, including D&G junior, at Corso Venezia 7. Gianfranco Ferré Via Sant’Andrea 15. The sculptural designs of this master of couture are mirrored by the decor of his boutique with its stunning red-resin wall, but it’s the adjoining day-spa that makes it really special. Mon–Fri 10am–10pm, Sat 10am–9pm, Sun 11am–6pm. Gianni Versace Via Montenapoleone 11. Unusually for Versace, this store, spread over five storeys, is remarkably understated. The clean lines provide a perfect backdrop for the luxurious ostentation of the clothes, shoes and accessories in glinting gold and swirling colours.
Giorgio Armani Via Manzoni 31. This temple to all things Giorgio is more of a mini-shopping centre than a shop. There are boutiques for all his ranges – womenswear, menswear, furnishings and homeware – accompanied by Armani Café, a relaxed pavement café, and Nobu, a pricey, high-tech Japanese restaurant with fantastically offhand service. With a book corner selling design and coffee-table books, an in-house florists and a chocolate counter, you really won’t need to spend your money anywhere else in town. Gucci Via Montenapoleone 5–7 & Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Every desirable fashion item imaginable is available in the warren of sleek showrooms in Via Montenapoleone, while the newer store in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II has the Gucci Café: revitalize in an atmosphere of elegant minimalism with a freshly squeezed fruit juice or a coffee. Just Cavalli Boutique Via della Spiga 30. The ultimate in bling. Cavalli’s leopardskin-clad
the basement. Accessories, including shoes, at Via della Spiga 18; menswear at Via Montenapoleone 6; womenswear at Via Montenapoleone 8; sportswear at Via Sant’Andrea 21. Trussardi Via Sant’Andrea 3–7. A spacious boutique across three floors with the über-chic Trussardi-Marino Alla Scala Café on the ground floor and a huge video wall to keep you entertained while you sip your coffee. On the floor above the soft leather bags and crisp linens is the formal but well-priced restaurant, and one floor higher still is a contemporary gallery space. Accessories and homeware at Piazza della Scala 5.
Factory outlets
Furniture and design To pick up Alessi, Gio Ponte or Castiglione designer furniture, make for the broad streets off San Babila: Corso Europa, Via Durini, Corso Venezia and Corso Monforte are home to the furniture and lighting showrooms that made Milan the design capital of the world in the 1950s. For a more relaxed, but very Milanese, shopping experience, try a concept store that sells a bit of everything: High Tech, at Piazza XXV Aprile 12, is great for getting lost among designer, imitation and ethnic knick-knacks; while 10 Corso Como sells a few perfectly chosen design and fashion objects, as well as books and music, alongside a café and art gallery. B&B Italia Via Durini 14 W www.bebitalia.it. International name that specializes in stylish contemporary furniture with collections by big names in modern Italian design. Cassina Via Durini 16 Wwww.cassina.it. The showroom of this legendary Milanese company is always worth a visit for both new designs and their range of twentieth-century design classics including Eames, De Stijl and Rennie Mackintosh chairs. De Padova Corso Venezia 14 W www.depadova.it. Two floors of elegant own-brand furniture and
| Milan: Listings
In and around Milan are outlets or factory shops galore, selling last season’s designer-label fashions for half-price or less. Aim for the multi-label D-Magazine, Via Montenapoleone 26; the hard-to-find Basement, entered through the door to the left of no. 15 on Via Senato, with bargains from all the top labels; and DT Intrend, Galleria San Carlo 6, near the Duomo, offering discounts on the Max Mara brands. Others demand more of a hike, although the savings are higher: the grande dame is Il Salvagente, Via Bronzetti 16, fifteen minutes east of San Babila by bus (#54 & #61), where, with a little rummaging, you can bag a designer label for around a third of its original price.
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clientele feel wonderfully at home in the whitecloud lift or shimmying up and down the giant central staircase. The pièce de résistance, however, is down in the café, Just Cavalli Food, where a saltwater aquarium swims with brightly coloured tropical fish. Prada Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The original Prada store, dating from 1913, stands in the centre of the galleria. Much of the elegant interior is original, including the monochrome marble floor and polished wood display cabinets, but the best bit is the central staircase swirling down past the leather goods to the men’s and women’s collections in
housewares artfully displayed in a light, stylish showroom. Their collections are designed by big names including Vico Magestretti and Patricia Urquiola. Driade Via Manzoni 30 Wwww.driade.com. A wonderful multi-brand store with their own designs, as well as work by designers like Ron Arad and Philippe Starck. The collection includes furniture, tableware, kitchen and bathroom accessories, but the real treat here is the showroom housed in an elegant nineteenth-century palazzo.
Listings Bicycle rental If you want a bicycle for longer than is possible with the BikeMi scheme (see p.148), head for AWS, Via Ponte Seveso 33
(W www.awsbici.com), or La Stazione, beside San Donato Milanese metro station (W www.lastazione dellebiciclette.com).
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| Pavia and around
Consulates Australia, Via Borgogna 2 T02.776.741; South Africa, Vicolo San Giovanni sul Muro 4 T02.885.8581; UK, Via San Paolo 7 T02.723.001; US, Via Principe Amadeo 2/10 T02.290.351. Football Inter Milan (Wwww.inter.it) and AC Milan (W www.acmilan.it) play on alternate Sundays at the G. Meazza (San Siro) stadium (T 02.404.2432; metro Lotto, then a 10–15min walk). The stadium has hourly guided tours (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm from Gate 14, Via Piccolomini 5; €12.50; W www .sansirotour.com). Buy match tickets here and from New Milan Point, Piazza San Fedele (AC Milan games), or branches of Banca Popolare Milano (Inter games). Gay and lesbian Milan Milan is one of Italy’s most gay-friendly cities. The gay bookshop Libreria Babele Galleria, Viale Regina Giovanna 24/B (T 02.3656.1408, Wwww.libreriababele.it; metro Pora Venezia), is an institution, albeit in a new location. They organize events and stock the Gay Milan map as well as having details of the ArciUno Club Card, which many gay establishments require for entry. In May/June, a gay and lesbian film
festival (Wwww.cinemagaylesbico.com) includes fringe events. Left luggage Stazione Centrale (daily 6am– midnight; €3.80/5hr, then small increments up to a max of five days). Stazione Nord/Cadorna has lockers (daily 5am–11.30pm; €3.50–6.50/2hr 30min). Medical facilities English-speaking doctors and dentists at International Health Center (T 02.7634.0720, Wwww.ihc.it). 24hr pharmacies include Stazione Centrale and Carlo Erba on Piazza del Duomo. Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35 (T02.55.031), near Piazza del Duomo, has 24hr casualty. Police T113. Post office Via Cordusio 4, off Piazza Cordusio – not the building marked “Poste”, but around the corner (Mon–Fri 8am–7pm, Sat 8.30am–noon). Taxis To book, call T02.6767, 02.4040 or 02.8585. Train enquiries Ferrovie dello Stato T848.888.088 (daily 7am–9pm; Wwww.trenitalia.com); Ferrovie Nord T02.20.222 (daily 9am–6pm; Wwww .lenord.it).
Southern Lombardy Apart from Milan, much of Lombardy’s wealth is concentrated in the cities and towns of the broad plain of the River Po, which forms the southern belt of the region. It’s a wealth that is obvious in the well-preserved medieval towns (and the industrial estates that surround them), not to mention in the well-designed clothes and new cars of its citizens. Pavia is a pretty medieval town that makes an attractive introduction to his part of Lombardy, its cobbled streets and ancient churches taking a back seat in terms of sights to the fabulous Certosa monastery nearby. In the east, Cremona, birthplace of the violin, has a neat, well-preserved centre, but does not demand lingering attention. Mantua, on the eastern edge of the region, is Lombardy’s most visually appealing city: the powerful Gonzaga family ruled for three hundred years from an extravagant ducal palace and later the Palazzo Te, on the outskirts of the city, which contains some of the finest (and most steamily erotic) fresco-painting of the entire Renaissance.
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PAVIA, 55km south of Milan, is close enough to be seen on a day-trip, yet retains a clear identity of its own. A comfortable provincial town with an illustrious history, it boasts one of the masterpieces of Italian architecture in the nearby Carthusian monastery, the Certosa.
Arrival, information and accommodation
The Town Wandering is the nicest way to spend time in Pavia: pick any side street and you’re almost bound to stumble on something of interest – a lofty medieval tower, a pretty Romanesque or Gothic church, or just a silent, sleepy piazza. Getting lost is difficult, as the town is still based around its Roman axes: Corso Cavour – which becomes Corso Mazzini – runs east–west along the route of the decamanus, while Strada Nuova runs north–south following the cardo.
| Pavia and around
Regular trains make the thirty-minute journey from Milan. Buses from Milan Famagosta metro station drop you at Pavia’s bus station, round the corner from the train station, on the western edge of the centre. Buses #3 and #6 connect the train station with the centre, or it’s about a ten-minute walk down Corso Cavour to Piazza della Vittoria. The tourist office is in Piazza della Vittoria in the Palazzo del Broletto (Mon– Fri 9am–1pm & 2–5pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; T 0382.597.001, W www.turismo .provincia.pv.it). Most of Pavia’s unexciting hotels are near the station, including Aurora, Via Vittorio Emanuele 25 (T 0382.23.664, W www.hotel-aurora.eu; 3 ), and the rather smarter Moderno, Via Vittorio Emanuele 41 (T 0382.303.401, W www.hotelmoderno.it; 4 ), which has a small spa and offers free use of bicycles.
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Founded on an easily defendable stretch of land alongside the confluence of the Po and Ticino rivers, Pavia was always an important staging post en route to the Alps. Medieval Pavia was known as the city of a hundred towers, and although only a handful remain, the medieval aspect is still strong, with numerous Romanesque and Gothic churches tucked away in a wanderable web of narrow streets and cobbled squares. The town reached its zenith in the Dark Ages, when it was capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards: emperors – including Charlemagne in 774 and Frederick Barbarossa in 1155 – subsequently came to Pavia to receive the Lombards’ traditional iron crown. This all came to an end in the fourteenth century when Pavia was handed over to the Viscontis and became a satellite of Milan.
Piazza della Vittoria
The large, cobbled Piazza della Vittoria, lined with bars, gelaterie and restaurants, stands in the centre. At the square’s southern end, the Broletto, medieval Pavia’s town hall, abuts the rambling Duomo. An early Renaissance sprawl of protruding curves and jutting angles, the cathedral is best known for its huge nineteenth-century cupola, which dominates the skyline. Its facade was only added in 1933 and the building’s exterior is still mainly unfinished. At the time of writing, most of the church was under restoration, due to reopen in 2014. Beside the west front of the Duomo, facing Piazza del Duomo, are the remnants of the eleventh-century Torre Civica, a campanile that collapsed without warning in 1989, killing four people. San Teodoro to the Borgo Ticino
Southwest of the piazza, cobbled streets lead to the charming neighbourhood church of San Teodoro (daily 3–7pm). The twelfth-century basilica was clumsily restored at the end of the nineteenth century, and the main reason for visiting is to see the fresco on the left-hand side of the nave near the entrance: the View of Pavia by Bernardino Lanazani illustrates the city in 1522 with its hundreds of civic towers built by Pavia’s noble families to show their superiority over their rivals.
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Also featured in the painting is the Ponte Coperto, the covered bridge over the River Ticino just south of the basilica. The current bridge was rebuilt slightly downriver in the 1940s after the medieval one was bombed; you can still see remnants of the original jutting out into the water. The bridge leads over to the Borgo Ticino, a riverside neighbourhood traditionally inhabited by fishermen and raniere (frog-catchers); these days there are several popular local restaurants. An open park runs along the shore of both banks west of the bridge. L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
San Michele and north
| Pavia and around
The best of Pavia’s churches is the beautiful Romanesque San Michele, a fiveminute walk northeast from the bridge along Via Capsoni. This is where the kings of Northern Italy were crowned: Federico I (Barbarossa) came to receive the title here in 1155. The friezes and capitals on its broad sandstone facade are carved into a menagerie of snake-tailed fish, griffins, dragons and other beasts, some locked in a struggle with people, representing the fight between good and evil. Despite restoration work in the 1960s, the sandstone is eroding and some of the figures are being lost for good. North of here lie the attractive courtyards and sandstone buildings of the University of Pavia, founded in 1361 by Galeazzo II Visconti, and particularly renowned for its medicine and law faculties. Crossing Piazza Castello, you reach the Castello Visconteo (Tues–Sun: July, Aug, Dec & Jan 9am–1.30pm; March– June & Sept–Nov 10am–5.50pm; €6), also initiated by Galeazzo II Visconti in 1360, and added to by the Sforzas. Although it’s been restored, the rooms that remain are unremarkable. The Museo Civico inside includes a handful of Venetian paintings, Roman artefacts and medieval architectural fragments.
Eating Pavia’s best restaurant, with attractive outdoor tables in summer, is in an alleyway by the church of San Michele. Villaglori al San Michele, Vicolo San Michele 4 (T 0382.220.716; closed Mon & lunch Tues–Fri), offers excellently priced local wines to accompany interesting dishes like rabbit and asparagus lasagne or a mouthwatering selection of cold meats and cheeses in an elegant modern restaurant. Across Corso Strada Nuova, Osteria della Madonna del Peo, Via Cardano 63 (T 0382.302.833; closed Sun), is a good central option serving local specialities, such as risotto with frogs’ legs, in a cosy vaulted trattoria. If you’d prefer to grab a sandwich and head down to the river, the Punto Bar, Strada Nuova 9, is a first-rate paninoteca.
Certosa di Pavia
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One of the most extravagant monasteries in Europe, the Certosa di Pavia (Charterhouse of Pavia; Tues–Sun 9–11.30am & 2.30–5.30pm; Oct–March closes 4.30pm; free), 10km north of Pavia, was commissioned by the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo II Visconti, in 1396 as the family mausoleum. Visconti intended the church here to resemble Milan’s late-Gothic cathedral and the same architects and craftsmen worked on the building throughout its construction. It took a century to build; by the time it was finished tastes had changed (and the Viscontis had been replaced by the Sforzas). As a work of art the monastery is one of the most important testimonies to the transformation from late-Gothic to Renaissance and Mannerist styles, but it also affords a wonderful insight into the lives and beliefs of the Carthusian monks. The Certosa is easily reachable from both Milan and Pavia. Buses run hourly from Milan’s Famagosta station (€3) and from Pavia’s bus station, dropping you a fifteen-minute walk from the Certosa. Arriving by train, turn left out of the station and walk (15min) around the Certosa walls to the entrance.
The complex
Tours
| Cremona
To visit the rest of the monastery you need to join a guided tour (free; contributions welcomed) of just under an hour, led by one of the monks released from the strict Carthusian vow of silence. Tours start from the church when a group has gathered; they are in Italian, but are well worth doing even if you don’t understand a word, as they allow you to explore the best parts of the monastery complex. They move first to the small cloister, with fine terracotta decoration and a geometric garden around a fountain, then to the nearby refectory, where monks would eat together on Sundays and holy days; the Bible was read throughout the silent meal from the pulpit (with a hidden entrance in the panelling). The dining room is divided by a blind wall, which allowed the monastery to feed lay workers and guest pilgrims without compromising the rules of their closed order. Further on, the great cloister is stunning for its size and tranquillity. It is surrounded on three sides by the monks’ houses, each consisting of two rooms, a chapel, a garden and a loggia, with a bedroom above. The hatches to the side of the entrances were designed to enable food to be passed through without any communication. The final call is the Certosa shop, stocked with honey, chocolate, souvenirs and the famous Chartreuse liqueur.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
The monastery lies at the end of a tree-lined avenue, part of a former Visconti hunting range that stretched all the way from Pavia’s castello. Encircled by a high wall, the complex is entered through a central gateway bearing a motif that recurs throughout the monastery – “GRA-CAR” or “Gratiarum Carthusiae”, a reference to the fact that the Carthusian monastery is dedicated to Santa Maria delle Grazie, who appears in numerous works of art in the church. Beyond the gateway is a gracious courtyard; on the right is the seventeenth-century Palazzo Ducale, while rising up before you is the fantastical facade of the church, festooned with inlaid marble, twisted columns, statues and friezes – though in fact unfinished: the tympanum was never added to the top, which gives the church its stocky, truncated look. The church interior is no less splendid, its paintings, statues and vaults combining to create an almost ballroom glamour. Look out for the tombs of Lodovico Il Moro and Gian Galeazzo Visconti, masterpieces of the early Renaissance.
Cremona A cosy provincial town in the middle of the Po plain, CREMONA is renowned for its violins. Ever since Andrea Amati established the first violin workshop here in 1566, followed by his son Nicolò and pupils Guarneri and – most famously – Antonio Stradivari (1644–1737), Cremona has been a focus for the instrument. Today the city hosts an internationally famous school of violin-making, as well as frequent classical concerts. Cremona has some fine Renaissance and medieval buildings, and its cobbled streets make for some pleasant wandering, but it’s a modest sort of place: target it as a half-day trip from Milan, en route towards the richer pickings of Mantua.
Arrival, information and accommodation Cremona’s train station is on Via Dante, ten minutes’ walk north of the main Piazza del Comune, linked to the centre by bus #1. The tourist office (daily 9am–12.30pm & 3–6pm, June–Aug closed Sun afternoon; T 0372.407.269, W turismo.comune .cremona.it) is on Piazza del Comune, opposite the Duomo.
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As for accommodation, the Duomo, Via Gonfalonieri 13 (T 0372.35.242, W www .hotelduomocremona.com; 2 ), is very central, offering bright, air-conditioned rooms, while Dellearti Design Hotel, Via Bonomelli 8 (T 0372.23.131, W www .dellearti.com; 4), is aimed at chi-chi urbanites who like their contemporary styling – rather incongruous for sleepy Cremona. The campsite Parco al Po is at Lungo Po Europa 12 (T 0372.21.268, W www.campingcremonapo.it; April–Sept; bus #1). L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
The Town The centre of Cremona is the splendid Piazza del Comune, a narrow space dominated by monumental architecture. The town’s other main sight, the Museo Civico, is a short stroll from here, while there are a couple of appealing churches a little further out of the centre. Piazza del Comune
| Cremona
The west side of Piazza del Comune is the least dramatic, though its buildings, both thirteenth-century – the red-brick Loggia dei Militia (formerly headquarters of the town’s soldiery) and the arched Palazzo del Comune – are lavish. In the northeast corner of the square looms the gawky Romanesque Torrazzo, at 112m one of Italy’s tallest medieval towers. Built in the mid-thirteenth century and bearing a fine Renaissance clock dating from 1583, it can be climbed for excellent views (Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 2.30–6pm; €4, joint ticket with Baptistry €5). Adjacent stands the Duomo (Mon–Sat 7.30am–noon & 3.30–7pm, Sun 10.30–11am & 3.30–5.30pm), connected to the Torrazzo by way of a Renaissance loggia. The Duomo’s huge facade, made up of classical, Romanesque and fancy Gothic elements, focuses on a rose window from 1274. The interior is rather oppressive – lofty and dim, marked by the dark stone of its piers, and covered by naïve frescoes done in the sixteenth century. Also of note are the fifteenth-century pulpits, decorated with fine reliefs. The south side of the square features the octagonal Baptistry (Tues–Sun 10am–1pm & 2.30–6pm; €2, joint ticket with Torrazzo €5), dating from the late twelfth century. Its vast bare-brick interior is rather severe, though lightened by the twin columns in each bay and a series of upper balconies. Directly opposite the Duomo, the Palazzo del Comune has a small exhibition of nine historic violins in its upstairs Sala dei Violini (Tues–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 10am–6pm; €6, joint ticket with Museo Civico €10), including a very early example made by Andrea Amati in 1566, as well as later instruments by Amati’s pupils, Guarneri and Stradivari. There are recordings of the different instruments; at certain times of the day you can hear one of them being played live (check times with the tourist office). The rest of town
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The pilastered Palazzo Affaitati, at Via Ugolani Dati 4 – a pleasant ten-minute stroll north of Piazza del Comune – holds the Museo Civico “Ala Ponzone” (Tues–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 10am–6pm; €7, joint ticket with Sala dei Violini €10), displaying a pedestrian collection of mainly Cremonese art. Head upstairs to a suite of eighteenth-century rooms – filled with the sound of recorded violin music – which hold the Museo Stradivariano, displaying models, paper patterns, tools and acoustic diagrams from Stradivari’s workshop. An informative video helps to unravel the mysteries of the violin-maker’s art. Southwest of Piazza del Comune, on Via Tibaldi, the church of San Pietro al Po has better frescoes than the Duomo; look for Bernadino Gatti’s hearty Feeding of the Five Thousand in the refectory next door. If you like that, you’ll love San Sigismondo in the eastern outskirts (bus #2 from Piazza Cavour). Built in 1441, its Mannerist
decor is among Italy’s best, ranging from Camillo Boccaccino’s soaring apse fresco to Giulio Campi’s Annunciation, in which Gabriel floats in mid-air.
Eating and drinking
Duomo Via Gonfalonieri 13, down the side of the Palazzo del Comunale T0372.352.96. The tables outside this popular restaurant/pizzeria make a fine, sunny spot to tuck into a crispy pizza. Closed Sun. La Sosta Via Sicardo 9 T 0372.456.656. By the main piazza, this attractive osteria does a great line in Cremonese specialities at reasonable prices. Closed Sun dinner & Mon. Porta Mosa Via Santa Maria Betlem 11 T 0372.411.803. This simple osteria, a 10-minute
walk east of Piazza del Comune, serves delicious local dishes, washed down by well-chosen wines. Closed Sun. Portici del Comune Piazza del Comune 2. Nicest – and best-located – of the many pleasant pavement cafés and gelaterie dotted around the main squares, in a plum position under the arches directly opposite the Duomo’s facade. Closed Tues.
Aldous Huxley called it the most romantic city in the world. With a skyline of domes and towers rising above its three encircling lakes, MANTUA (Mantova) is undeniably evocative. This was where Romeo heard of Juliet’s supposed death, and where Verdi set Rigoletto. Its history is one of equally operatic plots, most of them acted out by the Gonzaga, one of Renaissance Italy’s richest and most powerful families, who ruled the town for three centuries. Its cobbled squares retain a medieval aspect, and there are two splendid palaces: the Palazzo Ducale, containing Mantegna’s stunning fresco of the Gonzaga family and court, and Palazzo Te, whose frescoes by the flashy Mannerist Giulio Romano encompass steamy erotica and illusionistic fantasy. Mantua’s lakes, and the flat surrounding plain, offer numerous boat cruises and cycling routes.
| Mantua (Mantova) and around
Mantua (Mantova) and around
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Numerous cosy osterie serve Cremona’s excellent local specialities, especially bollito misto – a mixture of boiled meats, served with mostarda di frutta (also known as mostarda di Cremona), fruit suspended in a sweet mustard syrup. The excellent gastronomie that cluster around Corso Garibaldi and Corso Campi make good places to put together a picnic.
Exploring Mantua: bikes and boats Several companies offer cruises on Mantua’s lakes – bulges in the course of the River Mincio – and on the river itself down to its confluence with the Po, ranging from one-hour jaunts (around €8) up to full-day voyages as far as Venice (around €77). All run daily but must be booked in advance: usually a day ahead, but sometimes an hour or so will do. The leading company is Motonavi Andes Negrini, whose ticket office is at Via San Giorgio 2 (T0376.322.875, Wwww.motonaviandes.it), three minutes’ walk from its jetty on Lago Inferiore. Navi Andes (T0376.324.506, Wwww.naviandes.com) is a separate concern, based at its jetty on Lago di Mezzo. Alternatives include the Barcaioli del Mincio (T0376.349.292, Wwww.fiumemincio.it), local boatmen operating small craft upstream from Mantua. Many of the boats accept bikes, so you can make a great day-trip – a morning on the boat, a picnic lunch at, say, Rivalta, then a gentle cycle-ride back in the afternoon. The tourist office has a good map (also on their website) detailing cycle routes, plus information on bus, boat and train combinations. You can rent bikes (around €10 a day) from Mantua Bike, Viale Piave 22/B (T0376.220.909), and La Rigola at Via Trieste 7 (T0376.366.677).
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| Mantua (Mantova) and around
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ACCOMMODATION Armellino Broletto VIALE S. Corte San Girolamo Ostello del Mincio Rechigi
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Arrival, information and accommodation
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Mantua’s train station – with services from Milan, Cremona and Verona – and nearby bus station are a ten-minute walk west of the centre (buses from Verona drop off first in the more convenient Piazza Sordello). The city is small enough to cover on foot: even the walk south to Palazzo Te is only twenty minutes, although you’ll feel like a local if you pedal around on a bike (see box, p.173). Bus #1 follows a circular route linking the train station, the central squares and Palazzo Te. The well-organized tourist office is at Piazza Mantegna 6 (daily 9.30am–6.30pm; T 0376.432.432, W www.turismo.mantova.it). If you want to
stay in the countryside, ask the tourist office about the numerous agriturismo options (W www.agriturismomantova.it) in this part of Lombardy. Hotels and B&Bs
Rechigi Via Calvi 30 T0376.320.781, Wwww.rechigi.com. Professional four-star hotel in the historic centre. The lobby is all gleaming marble and contemporary art; the rooms are calmer, while still being modern and functional. Private parking. 5
Hostel
The City The centre of Mantua is made up of four attractive squares, each connected to the next. Lively Piazza Mantegna is overlooked by the massive Sant’Andrea church. Beside it is the lovely Piazza delle Erbe, with fine arcades facing the medieval Rotonda church. To the north, through medieval passageways and across Piazza Broletto, the long, cobbled slope of Piazza Sordello is dominated by the Palazzo Ducale, the fortress and residence of the Gonzaga, packed with Renaissance art. Mantua’s other great palace stands in its own gardens 1.5km south of the historic centre – Palazzo Te, adorned with sensational frescoes. Piazza Mantegna
Dominating Piazza Mantegna – a wedge-shaped open space at the end of the arcaded shopping thoroughfares of Corso Umberto and Via Roma – is the facade of Leon Battista Alberti’s church of Sant’Andrea, an unfinished basilica that says a lot about the ego of Lodovico II Gonzaga, who commissioned it in 1470. He felt that the existing medieval church was neither impressive enough to represent the splendour of his state nor large enough to hold the droves of people who packed in every Ascension Day to see the holy relic of Christ’s blood which had been found on the site. Lodovico brought in the court architect, Luca Fancelli, to oversee Alberti’s plans. There was a bitchy rivalry between the two, and when, on one of his many visits, Alberti fell and hurt a testicle, Fancelli gleefully told him: “God lets men punish themselves in the place where they sin.” Work started in earnest after Alberti’s death in 1472, and took more than two decades to complete. The Classical facade is focused on an immense triumphal arch supported on giant pilasters. Inside (daily 8am–noon & 3–7pm), the vast, column-free space is roofed with one large barrel-vault, echoing the facade. The octagonal balustrade at the crossing stands above the crypt where the holy relic is kept in two vases, copies of originals designed by Cellini and stolen by the Austrians in 1846; to see them, ask the sacristan. The painter Mantegna is buried in the first chapel on the left, his tomb topped with a bust of the artist that is said to be a self-portrait. The wall-paintings in the chapel were designed by Mantegna and executed by students, Correggio being one.
| Mantua (Mantova) and around
Ostello del Mincio Via Porto 23, Rivalta T0376.653.924, W www.ostellodelmincio.org. Fine hostel 10km west of town, in a sleepy village on the River Mincio, with canoes and bicycles available for rent and boat trips. It stands 5km from Castellucchio train station (on the Cremona–Mantua line), and the hourly bus #13 (Mantua–Asola; W www.apam.it) stops outside. There are double and family rooms as well as dorms. Dorms €14.50, rooms 1
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Armellino Via Cavour 67 T346.314.8060, Wwww.bebarmellino.it. Three large beautifully furnished double rooms in an eighteenth-century palace right in the heart of town. There’s a pretty garden for drinks and breakfast is served in the period dining room. No credit cards. 2 Broletto Via Accademia 1 T 0376.326.784, Wwww.hotelbroletto.com. Newly refurbished boutique hotel in the very centre of town. Service is cheery and the smart en-suite rooms are attractive if a little small. 4 Corte San Girolamo Via San Girolamo 1, Gambarara T0376.391.018, Wwww.agriturismo-sangirolamo.it. Occupying a renovated watermill 3km north of town on the cycle route from Mantua to Lake Garda, this serene agriturismo has en-suite doubles, plus a fourperson apartment. Bicycles available. 2
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| Mantua (Mantova) and around 176
Beside Sant’Andrea, Piazza Mantegna gives way to atmospheric Piazza delle Erbe, with a small daily market and cafés sheltering in the arcades below the thirteenth-century Palazzo della Ragione. Sunk below the present street level is the eleventh-century Rotonda di San Lorenzo (daily 10am–1pm & 3–6pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm), which was partially demolished in the sixteenth century and used as a courtyard by the surrounding houses. Rebuilt in 1908 and beautifully restored in recent years, it still contains traces of twelfth- and thirteenth-century frescoes. At the northern end of Piazza delle Erbe, a passage leads under the red-brick Broletto, or medieval town hall, into the smaller Piazza Broletto, where you can view two reminders of how “criminals” were treated under the Gonzagas. The bridge to the right has metal rings embedded in its vault, to which victims were chained by the wrists, before being hauled up by a pulley and suspended in mid-air; while on your far left – actually on the corner of Piazza Sordello – the tall medieval Torre della Gabbia has a cage attached in which prisoners were displayed. A diversion up Via Accademia leads to the Baroque Teatro Bibiena (Tues–Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 3–6pm; €2), a splendid, intimate theatre, its curved walls lined with boxes. Mozart gave the inaugural concert here on January 16, 1770, a few days before his fourteenth birthday. Piazza Sordello and the Palazzo Ducale
Northeast of Piazza Broletto, Piazza Sordello is a large, sombre square, headed by the Baroque facade of the Duomo. Flanked by touristy pavement cafés and grim crenellated palaces built by the Bonacolsi (the Gonzagas’ predecessors) the Duomo conceals a rich interior, designed by Giulio Romano after the church had been gutted by fire in 1545. Opposite, the Palazzo del Capitano and Magna Domus form the core of the Palazzo Ducale, an enormous complex that was once the largest palace in Europe. In
The Gonzaga At the time of the coup of 1328, when Luigi Gonzaga seized Mantua from the Bonacolsi, the Gonzaga family were wealthy local landowners living outside Mantua on vast estates with an army of retainers. Luigi nominated himself Captain of the People, a role which quickly became hereditary, eventually growing to that of marquis. Mantua’s renaissance began in 1459, when a visiting pope complained that the city was muddy, marshy and riddled with fever. This spurred his host, Lodovico II Gonzaga, to give the city a facelift, ranging from paving the squares and repainting the shops to engaging Andrea Mantegna as court artist and calling in the prestigious architectural theorist Leon Battista Alberti to design the monumental church of Sant’Andrea, one of the most influential buildings of the early Renaissance. Later, Lodovico’s grandson, Francesco II (1466–1519), swelled the family coffers by hiring himself out as a mercenary – money his wife, Isabella d’Este, spent amassing a prestigious collection of paintings, sculpture and objets d’art. Under Isabella’s son, Federico II, Gonzaga fortunes reached their height; his marriage in 1531 to the heiress of the duchy of Monferrato procured a ducal title for the family, while he continued the policy of self-glorification by commissioning an out-of-town villa – the Palazzo Te – for himself and his mistress. Federico’s descendants were for the most part less colourful characters, one notable exception being Vincenzo I, whose debauchery and corruption provided the inspiration for Verdi’s licentious duke in Rigoletto. After Vincenzo’s death in 1612, the then-bankrupt court was forced to sell many of the family treasures to Charles I of England (many are still in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum), just three years before the arrival of the Habsburgs.
its heyday it covered 34,000 square metres and had a population of over a thousand; when it was sacked by the Habsburgs in 1630 eighty carriages were needed to carry away the two thousand works of art contained in its five hundred rooms. Palazzo Ducale practicalities
Inside the Palazzo Ducale
| Mantua (Mantova) and around
The tour starts in the Corte Vecchia, the oldest wing of the palace. In the Sala del Morone (room 1) hangs a painting from 1494 by Domenico Morone showing the Expulsion of the Bonacolsi from Piazza Sordello, with the Duomo sporting its old, Gothic facade (replaced in the eighteenth century). In the Sala del Pisanello (room 3) are the fragments of a half-finished fresco by Pisanello, discovered in 1969 behind two layers of plaster. The splendid Neoclassical Sala degli Specchi (Hall of Mirrors; room 6) was originally an open loggia, bricked up in 1773; the barrel-vaulted ceiling holds a fresco depicting teams of horses being driven from Night to Day. In the Sala degli Arcieri (Hall of Archers; room 7), a huge canvas by Rubens shows the Gonzaga family of 1604 seated comfortably in the presence of the Holy Trinity; look out for Vincenzo with his handlebar moustache. The picture was originally part of a huge triptych, but Napoleonic troops carried off two-thirds of it in 1797 (one part is now in Antwerp, the other in Nancy) and chopped the remaining third into saleable chunks of portraiture; some gaps remain. Around the room is a curious frieze of horses, glimpsed behind curtains. Beyond the Sala del Labirinto (room 9), named for the maze on its painted and gilded wooden ceiling, the Sala di Amore e Psiche (room 11) is an intimate space with a wooden floor and an eighteenth-century tondo of Cupid and Psyche in the ceiling. From here follow signs along corridors, down stairs and over a moat into the fourteenth-century Castello di San Giorgio, which contains the palace’s principal treasure: Mantegna’s frescoes of the Gonzaga family in the Camera degli Sposi (room 17). Painted between 1465–74, they’re naturalistic pieces of work, giving a vivid impression of the Marquis Lodovico, his wife Barbara and their family, and of the relationships between them. In the main fresco Lodovico discusses a letter with a courtier while his wife looks on; their youngest daughter leans on her mother’s lap, about to bite into an apple, while an older son and daughter look towards the door, where an ambassador from another court is being welcomed. The other fresco, divided into three sections, shows Lodovico welcoming his son Francesco back from Rome. In the background are the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III and the king of Denmark. Don’t forget to look up: the ceiling features another nice piece of trompe l’oeil, in which two women, peering down from a balustrade, have balanced a tub of plants on a pole and appear to be on the verge of letting it tumble into the room.
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Admission (Tues–Sun 8.45am–7.15pm, last entry 6.20pm; €6.50; W www .mantovaducale.it) is from Piazza Sordello, where you can also pick up an audioguide (€4, or €5.50 for two). In winter (Nov–March) you must take a guided tour (free); these start every fifteen minutes, or when twenty people have gathered, and last an hour and a half. For conservation reasons, only 1500 people a day are allowed to visit the Camera degli Sposi (also called the Camera Picta). In the peak season for school trips (mid-March to mid-June and Sept to mid-Oct), individuals must book in advance for a timed slot for admission to this room, on T 041.241.1897 (press 1 for English-speaking operators; Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–2pm). Booking costs €1 extra, payable on arrival.
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Next comes the sixteenth-century Corte Nuova wing, designed by Giulio Romano for Federico II Gonzaga. After several formal audience rooms you come to the Sala di Troia (room 22), decorated with Romano’s brilliantly colourful scenes from the Iliad and Aeneid. The adjacent Galleria dei Marmi (room 23), with delicate floral and wildlife motifs, looks out over the Cortile della Cavallerizza (Courtyard of the Riding School). Along the courtyard’s long side runs the immense Galleria della Mostra (room 24), once hung with paintings by Titian, Caravaggio, Breughel and others, all now dispersed; in their place are 64 Roman marble busts. Push on through the smaller rooms and up more stairs to the stunning Sala dello Zodiaco (room 33), whose late sixteenth-century ceiling is spangled with stars and constellations. The adjoining Rococo Sala dei Fiumi (room 34) features an elaborate painted allegory of Mantua’s six rivers, flanked by two over-the-top stucco-and-mosaic fountains. Save some wonder for rooms 35–37, beside the Sala dello Zodiaco. These comprise the Stanze degli Arazzi, three rooms (and a small chapel) altered in the eighteenth century to house nine sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries of exceptional virtuosity, depicting stories from the Acts of the Apostles, made from Raphael’s cartoons for the Sistine Chapel (now in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum).
| Mantua (Mantova) and around
South of the centre
A twenty-minute walk from the centre of Mantua, at the end of the long spine of Via Principe Amedeo and Via Acerbi, the Palazzo Te is the later of the city’s two Gonzaga palaces, and equally compelling. On the way is Giulio Romano’s Fish Market – to the left off Piazza Martiri Belfiori – a short covered bridge over the river, which is still used as a market building. Following Via Principe Amedeo south, the Casa di Giulio Romano, off to the right at Via Poma 18 – overshadowed by the monster-studded Palazzo di Giustizia – was meant to impress the sophisticated, who would have found the licence taken with the Classical rules of architecture witty. A five-minute walk away on busy Via Acerbi stands the austere brick Casa del Mantegna, now used as a contemporary art space (hours and admission vary). Across the road, the church of San Sebastiano (mid-March to mid-Nov Tues–Sun 10.30am–12.30pm & 3–5pm; €1.50), the work of Alberti, is famous as the first Renaissance church to be built on a central Greek-cross plan, described as “curiously pagan” by Nikolaus Pevsner. Lodovico II’s son was less polite: “I could not understand whether it was meant to turn out as a church, a mosque or a synagogue.” The bare interior – now deconsecrated – is dedicated to Mantua’s war dead. Palazzo Te
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At the southern end of Via Acerbi, set in its own grounds, the Palazzo Te (Mon 1–6pm, Tues–Sun 9am–6pm, last entry 5.30pm; €8; W www.palazzote.it) was designed by Giulio Romano in the 1520s for playboy Federico Gonzaga and his mistress, Isabella Boschetta. It’s the artist’s greatest work and a renowned Renaissance pleasure dome – originally an island connected to the mainland by bridge, an ideal location for an amorous retreat away from Federico’s wife and the restrictions of life in the Palazzo Ducale. Although the upstairs rooms display paintings and antiquities, the main reason for visiting is to see Giulio’s amazing decorative scheme on the ground floor. A tour of the palace is like a voyage around Giulio’s imagination, a sumptuous world where very little is what it seems. In the Camera del Sole, the sun and the moon are represented by a pair of horse-drawn chariots viewed from below, giving a fine array of human and equine bottoms on the ceiling. The Sala dei Cavalli holds portraits of prime specimens from the Gonzaga stud-farm (which was also on
Mantua has plenty of excellent, reasonably priced restaurants, many serving local specialities like spezzatino di Mantova (donkey stew), agnoli in brodo (pasta stuffed with cheese and sausage in broth) or the delicious tortelli di zucca (sweet pumpkinfilled pasta). If you’re in town on a Saturday, head for the tempting goodies at the farmers’ market in Lungorio IV Novembre (8am–1pm). Al Quadrato Piazza Virgiliana 49 T 0376.368.896. A tranquil spot away from the fray, overlooking the Piazza Virgiliana park north of the centre. Serves good pizzas (€7–8) and tasty fish dishes. Expect to pay around €25. Closed Mon. Aquila Nigra Vicolo Bonacolsi 4 T0376.327.180, Wwww.aquilanigra.it. A formal restaurant housed in an elegant palazzo just off Piazza Sordello, serving delicious seasonal dishes complemented by an impressive wine list. The fish and, especially, seafood are highly regarded. Menus are €70/80. There’s also a contemporary bistro next door with a briefer menu at lower prices. Closed Sun, Mon & Aug. Fragoletta Piazza Arche 5/A T 0376.323.300. Over towards the Lago Inferiore, this is a lively osteria shoehorned into a cramped little building. It’s been around since 1748 and remains popular with locals for its well-priced regional cuisine (meals for around €30 a head). Closed Mon. Il Cigno (Trattoria dei Martini) Piazza d’Arco 1 T0376.327.101. Wonderful restaurant occupying
a sixteenth-century mansion in a quiet corner away from the centre, overlooking a beautiful private garden. Choose from the seasonal menu, which includes delectable tortelli di zucca with amaretti and the signature roast guinea-fowl. Service is discreet yet welcoming. There are no prices on the menu, but expect to pay around €80 per head. Closed Mon, Tues & Aug. L’Ochina Bianca Via Finzi 2 T0376.323.700. Cosy osteria where friendly staff serve tasty Mantuan dishes – this is a mainstay of the Italian Slow Food movement, dedicated to promoting quality and conviviality. Five-minute walk west from Piazza delle Erbe. Closed Mon. Tiratappi Piazza Alberti 30 T0376.322.366. Atmospheric old wine-bar on this little-visited square, down a concealed passageway beside the Sant’Andrea church. Its terrace tables are a sun-trap – perfect for sampling Mantuan vintages on a slow afternoon. The cuisine is all local as well: mid-priced specialities served with care. Closed lunch on Tues & Thurs.
| Mantua (Mantova) and around
Eating and drinking
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the island), standing before an illusionistic background in which simulated marble, fake pilasters and mock reliefs surround views of painted landscapes through nonexistent windows. The function of the Sala di Amore e Psiche, further on, is undocumented, but the graphically erotic frescoes, and the proximity to Federico’s private quarters, are powerful clues. The ceiling paintings tell the story of Cupid and Psyche with more dizzying sotto in su (“from the bottom up”) works by Giulio, while the walls are covered with orgiastic wedding-feast scenes, at which drunken gods in various states of undress are attended by a menagerie of real and mythical beasts. On one wall, Mars and Venus are climbing out of the bath together, their cave watered by a river-god lounging above who is gushing with deliberately ambiguous liquid, flowing from his beard, a vessel he’s holding and his genitals. Other scenes show Olympia about to be raped by a half-serpentine Jupiter and Pasiphae disguising herself as a cow in order to seduce a bull – all watched over by the giant Polyphemus, perched above the fireplace, clutching the pan-pipes with which he sang of his love for Galatea before murdering her lover. Polyphemus and his fellow giants are revenged in the extraordinary Sala dei Giganti beyond – “the most fantastic and frightening creation of the whole Renaissance”, according to the critic Frederick Hartt – showing the destruction of the giants by the gods. As if at some kind of advanced disaster movie, the destruction appears to be all around: cracking pillars, toppling brickwork and screaming giants, mangled and crushed by great chunks of architecture, appearing to crash down into the room. Stamp your feet and you’ll discover another parallel to modern cinema – the sound effects that Giulio created by turning the room into an echo chamber.
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Northern Lombardy: lakes and mountains L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Northern Lombardy: lakes and mountains 180
“One can’t describe the beauty of the Italian lakes, nor would one try if one could.” Henry James’s sentiment hasn’t stopped generations of writers producing reams of purple prose in the attempt. Yet, in truth, the Lakes just about deserve it: their beauty is extravagant, and it’s not surprising that the most romantic and melodramatic of Italy’s opera composers – Verdi, Rossini and Bellini – rented villas here in which to work. British and German Romantic poets also enthused about the Lakes, and in doing so planted them firmly in northern-European imaginations. The result is a massive influx every summer of tourists from cooler climes, come to savour the Italian dream and to take gulps at what Keats called “the beaker of the warm south”. Garda is the largest lake, and one of the best centres in Europe for windsurfing and sailing. It is also visually stunning, especially in its mountainous northern stretches – yet Como matches (or, some say, betters) it, with forested slopes rising directly from the water’s edge. On both lakes, the luxuriance of the waterfront vegetation is equalled by the opulence of the local villas and palazzi; both also offer good hiking in the mountainous hinterland. Further west, Maggiore is less popular yet just as beautiful, with several sedate fin-de-siècle resorts. There are, however, some good walks, and superb formal gardens adorning Isola Bella. Nearby, the picture-postcard charms of Orta San Giulio, the main village on Lake Orta – with its steepled offshore islet – ensure that it is a popular spot, yet this too can be a wonderfully romantic place to hole up. The hilly terrain between the lakes is sliced up by mountain valleys – largely residential and industrial in their lower reaches though mostly untouched further up, hosting lots of modest ski resorts in winter (none worth making a special trip for). The nearby city of Brescia is best treated as a day-trip, though its neighbour Bergamo is a lovely place to stay, with an old walled hilltop quarter that ranks as one of the most alluring in Italy.
Getting around the Lakes Lakes Garda, Como and Maggiore are all well served by ferries and hydrofoils, which dock at jetties that are usually conveniently positioned on the main lakeside piazzas: travelling by water makes a lot more sense than struggling through lakeside traffic. All three also have useful car ferry routes across the centre of the lakes. For timetables and fares covering all three lakes, check Wwww.navigazionelaghi .it or consult the posters displayed at every lakeside jetty (and local tourist offices). Prices aren’t expensive – the two-hour voyage from Como to Bellagio is €8.20, for example, while it costs €18 to take a small car plus two people across Lake Garda – and there are good-value day-passes available, with some discounts for children and EU citizens over 65. Trains serve several points on all three lakes, and buses also run regularly up and down the shores. Tourist offices can advise about routes and timings, or check Wwww .vcoinbus.it for transport around the western shore of Lake Maggiore (in Piemonte), Wwww.aptv.it for buses along the eastern shore of Lake Garda (in the Veneto), and Wwww.trasporti.regione.lombardia.it for everything in between.
Lake Maggiore
Stresa
Arrival, information and accommodation
| Lake Maggiore
The Maggiore of the tourist brochures begins at STRESA, whose popularity as a resort began in 1906, when the Simplon Tunnel opened, the final link in a chain of railways connecting Lake Geneva to Milan, and thus northern Europe to the Mediterranean. International trains, including the Orient Express, were routed through Stresa, which quickly became a holiday retreat for Europe’s high society.
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For generations of overland travellers, weary of journeying over the Alps, LAKE MAGGIORE (Lago Maggiore) has been a first taste of Italy: the sight of limpid blue waters, green hills and exotic vegetation is evidence of arrival in the warm south. With palms and oleanders lining the lakeside promenades and a peaceful, serene air, Maggiore – at 66km, Italy’s longest lake – may not be somewhere for thrill-seekers, but it is seductively relaxing. Note that in winter (Nov–Easter) many hotels close down and attractions may be shut. The majority of tourists head for the western shore, from where the sumptuous gardens and villas of the Borromean Islands are within easy reach. The area retains much of its charm: the genteel old resort of Stresa is still a convenient base, linked by high-speed train to Milan (1hr) and by bus and boat to all points around the lake. Across the bay, Verbania is also well connected by train, bus and ferry, while further north, enchanting Cannobio – the last stop before Switzerland – is popular with families and a good place from which to explore Maggiore’s hilly hinterland. For tourist information, check W www.distrettolaghi.it.
From Stresa’s train station, walk right to the crossroads, then left on Via Duchessa di Genova for 200m down to the lakefront, where the tourist office stands beside the jetty (daily 10am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm; Nov–Feb closed Sat & Sun; T 0323.31.308, W www.distrettolaghi.it). Stresa’s lakefront is lined with grand palace hotels, including the Grand Hôtel des Îles Borromées (which featured in Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms), the Grand Hotel Bristol, the Regina Palace and several more; all are old-fashioned and opulent. At the other end of the spectrum, Luina, Via Garibaldi 21 (T 0323.30.285; 2), is a friendly two-star in the centre, with compact rooms (some en suite) and a good-value restaurant serving home cooking. Nearby, the house-proud Hotel Fiorentino, Via A.M. Bolongaro 9 (T 0323.30.254, W www.hotelfiorentino .com; 2), has comfortable en-suite rooms above a family-run restaurant with a sunny courtyard. The lakeside rooms and self-catering at La Luna nel Porto (T 0323.93.4466, W www.lalunanelporto.it; 3) are a particularly appealing alternative. The Town and around
Today, Stresa is a busy little place, but its greatest days have passed. Stroll the floral promenade, take in the lake views – which are worth coming for – head out to the islands, then retire to a waterside bench with an ice cream. Separating Stresa from Lake Orta (see p.185) is the Mottarone mountain, rising to 1491m. From the top – accessed by cable car (funivia; daily every 20min 9.30am–5.30pm; €10.50 one way, €17.50 return; W www.stresa-mottarone.it), rising from the Carciano ferry stop, 750m north of Stresa – the views are impressive, stretching to Monte Rosa on the Swiss border. Its wooded western slopes are a favourite destination for rambles and family outings. You can rent mountain bikes at the base station (€22 a day including cable-car ticket; W www.bicico.it). The easy walk up, signposted as path 1, takes four hours.
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Eating
There’s a good choice of eating options in Stresa for anything from ice cream sundaes to celebratory meals. Choose carefully, as the mass-tourist focus of some places can affect the quality.
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Il Vicoletto Vicolo del Poncivo 3 T 0323.93.2102. Just round the corner from Osteria degli Amici, this is a smart newcomer serving well-judged pan-Italian dishes. Closed Thurs out of season. La Botte Via Mazzini 6 T0323.30.462. The friendly host at this snug restaurant serves up Piemontese game, polenta and pasta dishes. Closed Thurs. Osteria degli Amici Via A.M. Bolongaro 31 T 0323.30.453. This simple osteria serves tasty
risotto and fish on an attractive vine-covered terrace. Closed Wed. Taverna del Pappagallo Via Principessa Margherita 46 T0323.30.411. A very popular pizzeria serving pizzas bubbling from the woodfired oven as well as good-quality local fare. There’s a courtyard outside for warmer weather. Closed Wed.
The Borromean Islands
| Lake Maggiore
Lake Maggiore’s leading attractions are three islands rising from the bay between Stresa and Pallanza – served by ferries from both, plus Carciano. All three are often dubbed the Borromean Islands (Isole Borromee), though strictly speaking only two are property of the Borromeo family (originally bankers, raised to nobility in the 1450s and still prominent locally). Romantics – if they can bear the crowds and the souvenir tat – will be knocked for six: the short voyage from Stresa to Isola Bella (mid-March to mid-Oct daily 9am–5.30pm; €12, joint ticket with Isola Madre €17.50; W www.borromeoturismo.it) is Italian Lakes fantasy brought to life. In 1630, Carlo III Borromeo began a redesign of this modest rock: soil was brought across from the mainland, a villa, fountains and statues were built, white peacocks imported, and terraces of orange and lemon trees, camellias, magnolias, box trees, laurels and cypresses carved out. Carlo’s son Vitaliano died in 1690 with most of the work completed. As well as roaming the sumptuous Baroque gardens, complete with obelisks and classical statuary, dip into the island’s opulent palazzo, which boasts a banqueting hall, ballroom, throne room and a three-storey domed salone, as well as mirror- and shell-encrusted grottoes down at water level. It’s definitely worth seeing.
Santa Caterina del Sasso
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Aside from Isola Bella, the most popular ferry trip from Stresa is across to the hermitage of Santa Caterina del Sasso (March daily 9am–noon & 2–5pm; April–Oct daily 8.30am–noon & 2.30–6pm; Nov–Feb Sat & Sun 9am–noon & 2–5pm; free; Wwww .provincia.va.it/santacaterina). This beautiful little cliffside monastery – visible only from the water – is well worth a visit, though it can get crowded. The site dates back to 1170, when a local sailor was caught in a storm, invoked the help of St Catherine of Alexandria and survived; he withdrew to a cave, where local people began construction of a votive chapel. By 1620 fourteen monks lived here; today, it is still home to a Carmelite monk and seven oblates. The complex is tiny: you could walk from one end to the other in three minutes. Eighty steps up from the jetty you arrive at the lovely entrance gallery (1624), with arches looking out over the lake, which leads to the South Convent. Inside is the Gothic Chapterhouse, decorated with a pristine fresco from 1439 of St Eligius healing a horse. Ahead, beneath the four Gothic arches of the Small Convent (1315) is the church, with its stubby Romanesque bell tower and graceful Renaissance porch; a fresco of God the Father, dated 1610, adorns the Baroque vault above the high altar.
Ferries move on to Isola Madre (same hours; €10, joint ticket €17.50), larger but less visited than Isola Bella, with a lusher, wilder garden – home to carob, hibiscus and banana plants, a colony of parrots and Europe’s largest Kashmir cypress, alongside a small, tasteful palazzo housing a collection of eighteenth-century puppets. Boats also serve Hemingway’s favourite island, Isola dei Pescatori (or Isola Superiore), which retains a certain charm, despite the trinket shops. There are no sights as such, but it has some decent restaurants and is a good spot for a picnic.
| Lake Maggiore
Across the bay from Stresa lies VERBANIA (a conglomerate town including neighbouring villages Suna, Intra and Pallanza), whose title recalls Lacus Verbanus, the Roman name for verbena-fringed Lake Maggiore. The scenic lakefront is lined with manicured flower beds and dapper gelaterie, bars and hotels; Intra’s cobbled centre is a shoppers’ paradise with boutiques for all pockets lining the alleyways. Verbania’s balmy climate prompted Captain Neil McEacharn, scion of a Scottish industrial family, to buy the lakeside Villa Táranto in 1931; the botanical garden he created (April–Oct daily 8.30am–6.30pm; €9; W www.villataranto.it) – a thirty-minute walk northeast of Pallanza towards Intra, also served by regular boats – remains exceptional, taking in giant Amazonian lilies, lotus blossoms, Japanese maples and more, laid out with geometric precision. The main tourist office is at Corso Zanitello 8 in Pallanza (April–Sept daily 9am–1pm & 3–6pm; Oct–March Mon, Tues & Thurs 9am–1pm & 3–5.30pm, Wed & Fri 9am–1pm; T 0323.503.249), with a branch by the Pallanza landing-stage (Mon–Sat 8.30–11.30am & 2–7pm; T 0323.557.676, W www.verbania-turismo .it). The lake’s only hostel lies a signposted ten-minute walk uphill from the Piazza Gramsci bus terminal; it’s a friendly place set in the attractive Villa Congreve, Via delle Rose 7 (T 0323.501.648, W www.ostelloverbania.it; dorms €17; March–Oct), with small dorms, doubles (1 ), family rooms and resourceful staff. As for restaurants, A Dei Cigni, Via delle Magnolie (T 0323.558.842; closed Tues), offers excellent-quality fish-biased meals at under €30 per head; reserve a table on the terrace looking over the trees to the Borromean Islands or in the informal dining rooms. From Intra, just north of Pallanza, a car ferry shuttles frequently over to Laveno, from where trains run direct to Milan, and roads connect to Varese and the A8 autostrada.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
Verbania
Cannobio and around CANNOBIO, 25km north of Pallanza (and 5km from the Swiss border), is one of Lake Maggiore’s most appealing places to stay, its lakefront road of pastel-washed houses giving onto a tightly tangled web of stepped alleyways and stone houses. The town’s only sight is the Santuario della Pietà, a Bramante-inspired church beside the landing stage with a curious openwork cupola, built to house a painting of the pietà which supposedly bled in 1522. Just north is a public beach, backed by pleasant lawns with trees and picnic tables. The SS34 main road passes through Cannobio as Viale Vittorio Veneto; the tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 4.30–7pm, Sun 9am–noon; T 0323.71.212, W www.procannobio.it) is signposted off at Via A. Giovanola 25. There are several lakeside campsites north of town, many with bungalows and caravans. From the tourist office, head down cobbled, pedestrianized Via Umberto I to find the serene Hotel Pironi, Via Marconi 35 (T 0323.70.624, W www.pironihotel.it; March–Nov; 5 ), a converted fifteenth-century convent in the old quarter; room 12 has a private, frescoed balcony. Just round the corner is the equally special Hotel Cannobio on the main waterfront Piazza Vittorio Emanuele III 6 (T 0323.739.639,
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W www.hotelcannobio.com; 5 ), with romantic lake views and thoughtful staff. Friendly, family-run Antica Stallera, Via Zacchero 7 (T 0323.71.595, W www .anticastallera.com; 5 ), has a vine-shaded garden restaurant overlooked by simple, modern en-suite rooms and is also self-catering. Lo Scalo (T 0323.71.480, W www.loscalo.com; closed Mon, Tues lunch), in a fourteenth-century palazzo on the lakefront piazza, is the best restaurant in town, serving classic Piemontese specialities; expect around €75 a head, with wine. Otherwise aim for A La Streccia (T 0323.70.575; closed Tues), up a narrow alley behind the lakefront, which offers very good Piemontese food – including home-made breads and pasta – in a rustic, low-ceilinged dining room, or the pleasant garden tables at Antica Stallera (see above). In summer the lakefront gelaterie are great for a coffee or light meal, as is the bar below Hotel Pironi (see p.183). Inland along the Val Cannobina
| Lake Maggiore
Extending behind Cannobio, the wooded Val Cannobina offers beautiful views and little-visited stone-built hamlets. Buses climb high into the valley, on one route to Falmenta, marooned in the jagged shadow of Monte Vadà (1836m), and on another to Cúrsolo, from where a scenic seven-kilometre walk heads past Finero to Malesco in the Val Vigezzo, a stop on the Domodossola–Locarno train line. The tourist office has details of many walks, including along the Linea Cadorna, a well-preserved World War I defence line that snaked across the peaks from the Val d’Ossola down to Cannobio. An 8km cycle and walking path heads off into the valley (rent bikes from the shop on Viale Veneto) to the Orrido di Sant’Anna, a spectacular rocky gorge surrounded by wooded slopes that is a popular picnic spot. Beside the Roman bridge and the chapel is a small river beach and the wonderfully sited restaurant Sant’Anna (T 0323.70.682; Sept–June closed Mon), which offers tasty countrystyle pan-Italian cuisine for around €40 per head. From here the path loops back above the natural springs of Fonte Carlina to the village. The Orrido is also accessible by car off the Val Cannobina road.
The eastern shore
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There is little of compelling interest on Maggiore’s eastern shore, although any of the villages make feasible bases for hiking into the hills behind – and all are on a branch rail line out of Milan Porta Garibaldi (change at Gallarate). From MACCAGNO, an improbably steep track leads straight out into the hills, from where there are paths to tiny Lago Delio. Most interestingly, you can walk to the village of Curiglia, beyond which, from Ponte di Piero, a mule track climbs to the picturesque village of Monteviasco, 500m above. A driveable road also climbs from Maccagno through the woods to Lake Delio; the views looking back at Cannobio, 1000m below on the lake, are breathtaking. Maccagno has simple hotels, or aim for Camin Hotel Colmegna (T 0332.510.855, W www.caminhotel .com; 5 ), a friendly, family-orientated place 4km south on the waterfront, with light, bright and comfortable rooms. Its tranquil lakeside gardens and swimming areas are difficult to beat. The commercial town and rail hub of LUINO – with a strollable centro storico and frescoes by Bernardino Luini, a follower of Leonardo, at the oratory of SS Pietro e Paolo – is besieged every Wednesday by people pouring in for what is, purportedly, the largest weekly market in Europe; dodge the tacky handbag and novelty stalls to seek out the tasty food section, piled high with salami and cheeses from all over Italy and Switzerland, olives and fresh-baked bread. Roads are jam-packed from 7am onwards; extra boats and buses serve Luino all day long.
Roughly 25km south of Luino, LAVENO has car-ferries shuttling continuously across to Verbania-Intra. Laveno-Mombello station is on the train line from Luino to Milan Porta Garibaldi (change at Gallarate), while Laveno-Mombello Nord station is a terminus for trains from Milan Nord/Cadorna.
The locals call LAKE ORTA (Lago d’Orta) “Cinderella”, capturing perfectly the reticent beauty of this small lake, with its deep blue waters and intriguing island. Lying west of Lake Maggiore, wholly within Piemonte, it is unmissable for Orta San Giulio, the most captivating medieval village on this – or, perhaps, any – Italian lake, with narrow, cobbled lanes snaking between the wrought-iron balconies of tall, pastel-washed palazzi. The village is unforgettably romantic, but consequently popular: on summer Sundays the approach roads are jammed with traffic (though the charm returns after dark). If you can, visit midweek or out of season.
Occupying the tip of a peninsula on the lake’s eastern shore, ORTA SAN GIULIO is a seductive little bolthole with charm and character in spades. The pace of life is slow, with everything revolving around the main square, Piazza Motta. Arrival, information and accommodation
| Lake Orta
Orta San Giulio
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
Lake Orta
Three buses a day arrive at Orta San Giulio from Stresa. Orta-Miasino train station – on the Novara–Domodossola branch line – is around 3km east: turn left out of the station and walk downhill for about twenty minutes to reach Orta San Giulio. On the way, you’ll pass the tourist office in a hut on Via Panoramica (Wed–Sun 9am–1pm & 2–6pm; T 0322.905.163). The village and the island of San Giulio are traffic-free: follow signs to the big car parks on the hillside above town. Accommodation is good but limited – always book in advance. For alternatives, try the apartments at W www.ortainfo.com or www.ortalakeflats.com. Hotels Aracoeli Piazza Motta 34 T 0322.905.173, Wwww.ortainfo.com. Eye-popping design hotel (pronounced ara-chaylee) on the main square; check-in is at Hotel Olina down the street. There are only seven rooms, each stylishly presented with plain white walls, designer furniture, a/c and walk-in showers. Breakfast is gourmet. 5 Contrada dei Monti Via dei Monti 10 T 0322.905.114, W www.lacontradadeimonti.it. Comfortable, well-kept little hotel in an eighteenthcentury house – better value than its neighbours as it’s away from the lake. Many of the stylish rooms overlook a little internal courtyard where breakfast is served in summer. Closed Jan. 3 Leon d’Oro Piazza Motta 42 T0322.911.991, W www.albergoleondoro.it. Long-standing old albergo directly on the waterfront behind the main square, with renovated three-star rooms offering some great lake views. 4
Piccolo Hotel Olina Via Olina 40 T 0322.905.532, W www.ortainfo.com. Little hotel alongside the Olina restaurant in the historic centre, with twelve modern rooms of varying sizes – very clean and attractive. Also has an annexe nearby on Via Poli. Closed Nov to mid-Dec. 3 San Rocco Via Gippini 11 T0322.911.977, Wwww.hotelsanrocco.it. In an unbeatable location on the edge of the village right on the water, this five-star hotel offers recently refurbished rooms and a swimming pool. 6
Campsite Camping Orta Via Domodossola 28 T0322.90.267, Wwww.campingorta.it. Goodquality site about 1km north of Orta, between the main road and the lake, with nice facilities and a private beach. Open year-round.
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The town and island
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| Lake Como
The central Piazza Motta is ringed on three sides by elegant facades and open on the fourth to the lake and island. Gelaterie, terrace cafés and restaurants share space under the arcades with galleries and boutiques. From here, head northwards on the main street, Via Olina – cobbled, and barely three metres wide – through the village and out for a stroll or a sunbathe on the lakeside promenade. Motorboats do the five-minute run more or less on demand (€4 return) out to the Isola San Giulio, dominated by a white convent and the Romanesque tower of its basilica. According to legend, the island was the realm of dragons until 390 AD, when Julius, a Christian from Greece, crossed the lake using his staff as a rudder and his cloak as a sail, banished the monsters, founded a sanctuary and thus earned himself a sainthood. The resulting Basilica di San Giulio (April–Sept Mon noon–6.45pm, Tues–Sun 9.30am–6.45pm; Oct–March Mon 2–5pm, Tues–Sun 9.30am–noon & 2–5pm) has an impressively lofty interior. Much of its decoration, including the vaulting, dates from a Baroque eighteenth-century refit, but frescoes from as early as the fourteenth century survive. The fine pulpit was carved from local stone in the early twelfth century with symbols of the four evangelists and images of good winning over evil: note the crocodile locked in battle with the phoenix. From the church, it takes twenty minutes to walk round the island on its one cobbled lane, past a couple of shops, a restaurant and some enticingly scenic picnic spots. Above Orta, the Sacro Monte (9.30am–6.30pm; W www.sacromonteorta.it) – 21 chapels containing life-size, painted terracotta statues acting out scenes from the Bible – winds around the wooded hillsides, making up a devotional route still followed by pilgrims, though as many visitors come simply to admire the views and inhale the pine-scented air. Eating and drinking
It’s easy to gather picnic ingredients at the gastronomie on and off Piazza Motta. The lakeside restaurants like Leon d’Oro and Venus generally offer poorer quality at higher prices than the places listed below but they’re not bad, and the views are wonderful. For better-quality food, try one of the options below. Al Boeuc Via Bersani 28 T0322.915.854. Tucked away from the bustle of the main square, this cosy enoteca has a handful of tables outside in the cobbled lane. Tasty platters of cold meats and local cheeses can be washed down by an excellent range of Piemontese wines. Closed Tues. Caffè Jazz Via Olina 13. This romantic little jazz-bar also has a moderately priced menu of Piemontese specialities. Closed Mon.
Olina Via Olina 40 T0322.905.656. In a relaxed, elegant setting, tasty local specialities are served, along with thoughtful extras like aperitifs on the house. Closed Wed. Pizzeria Annunziata Via Bossi 2. T0322.905.113. A simple, modern, no-nonsense pizzeria offering a wide range of well-cooked pizzas. Closed Thurs.
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Of all the Italian lakes, it’s the forked LAKE COMO (Lago di Como) that comes most heavily praised: Wordsworth thought it “a treasure which the earth keeps to itself ”. Today, despite inroads caused by mass tourism, the lake is still surrounded by abundant vegetation: zigzagging slowly between shores by steamer can seem impossibly romantic. More prosaically, there is also some great walking to be done in the lake’s mountainous hinterland. The principal towns – Como and Lecco – are at the southernmost tips of the lake, while of the other towns and villages, three stand out: Varenna and Bellagio for unrepentant romantics, and Menaggio if you want a pleasant, affordable base for walking, swimming or cycling.
Como As the nearest resort to Milan, standing astride main routes to and from Switzerland, COMO is much visited. Though its outskirts are dotted with factories (which produce luxury silk items for the fashion houses of Milan, Paris and New York), Como’s lakefront walled quarter is pleasant to wander. A funicular climbs wooded slopes nearby to offer wonderful views across the water. The main train station is Como San Giovanni, on the fast line from Milano Centrale to Chiasso; it lies about ten-minutes’ walk west of the centre. Como Nord Lago station – the terminus of a slower line from Milano Nord/Cadorna – stands on the lakefront Piazza Matteotti, alongside the old quarter and adjacent bus station. The tourist office is on Piazza Cavour (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 2.30–6pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; closed Sun Oct–April; T 031.269.712, W www.lakecomo.org). Del Duca Piazza Mazzini 12 T 031.264.859, W www.albergodelduca.it. Great little three-star hotel on a picturesque old-town square, a short walk from the lake and the Duomo. Rooms are small, but windows onto the piazza – as well as nice touches like window boxes and some two-person showers – make it special. 4
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A PIAZZA DE ORCHI
| Lake Como
Firenze Piazza Volta 16 T031.300.333, Wwww .centrohotelslagocomo.it. Pleasant mid-range option just back from the lakefront, with comfortable, modernized rooms set mainly around a quiet internal courtyard. Some have balconies over the square. 4 Posta Via Garibaldi 2 T031.266.012, Wwww.hotel posta.net. A Rationalist 1930s Terragni-designed building with good budget rooms in a great central
Hotels
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Arrival, information and accommodation
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location on Piazza Volta – basic but clean and all en suite. Also some triples and a quad available. Check-in is at Hotel Plinius (Via Garibaldi 33). 3 Quarcino Salita Quarcino 4 T 031.303.934, W www.hotelquarcino.it. A family-run hotel on the northeast side of the old town, near the funicular, with simple, quiet rooms, some with their own balconies overlooking the hillside. The family rooms and suites are particularly good value (€100–115) and there is parking available. 2
Hostel Ostello Villa Olmo Via Bellinzona 2 T031.573.800, Wwww.aighostels.com. Decent HI hostel located within the Villa Olmo grounds; bus #1 or #6 from San Giovanni station, or take the long flight of steps in front of the station and turn left for about 1.5km along Via Borgo Vico. Serves evening meals, has laundry facilities, rents bikes and provides a discount on the funicular. March–Nov. Dorms €16.
The Town
| Lake Como
Lakeside Piazza Cavour is bounded by modern hotels and banks. Via Plinio leads through to the Gothic Broletto, prettily striped in pink, white and grey, alongside the splendid Duomo (daily 7am–noon & 3–7pm), which was begun in the 1390s, when Gothic held sway, but wasn’t completed until 1744, with the addition of a Baroque cupola. The church is reckoned to be Italy’s best example of GothicRenaissance fusion: the fairytale pinnacles, rose windows and buffoonish gargoyles are all Gothic, while the rounded portals and statues of classical figures such as Pliny the Elder and Younger flanking the main door exemplify the Renaissance spirit. Inside, the Gothic aisles are hung with rich Renaissance tapestries, some woven with perspective scenes. In striking contrast, behind the Duomo in Piazza del Popolo stands the definitive example of Rationalist architecture by Como-born Giuseppe Terragni. Built as the headquarters for the local Fascist party in the 1930s it is now dubbed Palazzo Terragni and houses the Guardia di Finanza. Northwest of Piazza Cavour, a little waterfront park is set around the Tempio Voltiano (Tues–Sun 10am–noon & 3–6pm; €3), dedicated to Alessandro Volta, a pioneer in electricity who gave his name to the volt. Beyond, compellingly illuminated at night, is the Villa Olmo, a Neoclassical pile which hosts conferences and exhibitions; whatever is on, its gardens are the biggest draw (Mon–Sat: summer 8am–11pm; winter 7am–7pm; free). Stroll the lakefront northeast of Piazza Cavour to find the funicular (every 15–30min daily 6am–10.30pm, June–Aug until midnight; €4.50 return). It takes seven minutes to creep up the hillside past the gardens of wonderful nineteenthcentury villas to Brunate, a small hilltop resort that has a few bars and restaurants and great views of the lake. It is also a good starting-point for hikes; the tourist office has free leaflets detailing routes. If you’re after Como silk, walk fifteen minutes south of Piazza Cavour to the La Tessitura outlet store, Viale Roosevelt 2/A (daily 10am–10pm; W http://concept store.latessitura.com), which sells discounted ties, scarves, blouses and home furnishings and has a stylish design café (W www.loomcafe.com). Eating and drinking
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Castiglioni Gastronomia Via Cantù 9. Put together from a lunch mouthwatering selection of home-made pasta, salamis and cheeses at the counter of this wonderful delicatessen or from their very reasonably priced menu, served outside in the pretty courtyard. Closed Sun. La Colombetta Via Diaz 40 T031.262.703. Light, creative, Sardinian-inspired cooking served in handsome dining rooms. Expect to pay around €50 per head.
Le Colonne Piazza Mazzini 12 T031.264.859. This pleasant, family-run restaurant on an attractive square has a friendly buzz and serves tasty pasta and crispy pizza. Osteria del Gallo Via Vitani 16. Atmospheric little spot – one of several wine bars offering tasty nibbles with a fine selection of wines. Closed Sun eve. Sociale Via Rodari 6 T031.264.042. Reliable local cooking in a pleasant location with a handul of tables in the outside courtyard, just north of the Duomo. Closed Tues.
The western shore
Cernobbio and Isola Comacina
| Lake Como
Served by frequent boats and buses from Como, CERNOBBIO village comprises a compact quarter of old houses, loomed over by Monte Bisbino (1325m). It is home to the palatial Villa d’Este hotel (T 031.3481, W www.villadeste .it; 9 ), boasting sumptuous gardens, delicate stucco work, frescoes, marble, and an atmosphere to attract the super-wealthy. An equally enticing A-list haunt is the Gatto Nero restaurant, Via Monte Santo 69 (T 031.512.042; closed Mon & Tues), a hillside trattoria serving rustic food; the terrace views are stunning, but with footballers and fashionistas as regulars, this place is just as much about who’s at the next table. A little north is Isola Comacina, Lake Como’s only island – wild, unkempt and dotted with the ruins of nine abandoned churches. Wander at will, or book for dinner at the island’s restaurant, Locanda dell’Isola Comacina (T 0344.55.083, W www.comacina.it; June–Aug daily; March–May, Sept & Oct closed Tues; closed Nov–Feb), whose owner has made a selling point of serving the same set menu (€63; no credit cards) as when the restaurant opened in 1948, rounded off by an elaborate “exorcism by fire” at the end of every meal, stemming from a curse supposedly laid on the island in 1169 by the Bishop of Como. It involves – essentially – flambéed liqueur coffee. Boat transport to and from the town of Sala Comacina adds €6.
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The western lakeshore stretching north from Como is the stuff of tourist brochures: wooded mountain slopes protect the villages crammed onto the narrow shoreline from extremes of temperature, and lush gardens abound. Many of the opulent villas that line this shore are privately owned by industrialists and celebrities – George Clooney among them – and on summer weekends the lakeside road is solid with day-trippers. Further north, past the sheltered Tremezzina shore, Menaggio makes a good base for trips into the mountains behind or across to Bellagio and Varenna. Beyond Menaggio, the shore becomes rockier and less accessible until the lake peters out into the marshes that accommodate campsites around Gravedona. Boats stop at many villages on the lake, supplemented by car ferries shuttling from Cadenabbia and Menaggio across to Bellagio and Varenna. The #C10 bus (W www.sptlinea.it) runs northwards from Como, stopping everywhere on the shoreline to Colico, from where the train takes you back to Lecco and the #C40 bus to Como. The #C30 links Como and Bellagio.
Tremezzo and around
Sheltered by a headland, the shore above Isola Comacina, known as the Tremezzina, is where Como’s climate is at its gentlest, the lake most tranquil and the vegetation most lush. Lined with cypresses and palms, it’s lovely at any time of year, but unbeatable in spring bloom.
The Greenway The Greenway is an enchanting 10km trail of paths and waterside lanes that link Colonno with Cadenabbia, passing through unspoilt countryside past ancient churches, Roman relics and lakeside villas. The route can be broken down into 40-minute sections and combined with the ferry service, or the whole walk takes three and a half hours. Maps are available in English from tourist offices (W www .greenwaydellago.it).
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| Lake Como
Access to the Villa del Balbianello (mid-March to mid-Nov Tues & Thurs–Sun 10am–6pm; villa €11, or €3 to UK National Trust cardholders; gardens only €5/ free; W www.fondoambiente.it) is chiefly by boat from Lenno and Sala Comacina, but on Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays you can walk through the grounds (roughly 800m from Lenno). The house is a classic eighteenth-century set piece, but it’s the gardens that inspire, with gravel paths between lush foliage, and stone urns framing spectacular views. Parts of Star Wars: Episode II and the 2006 version of the James Bond classic Casino Royale were filmed here. For more than 150 years, overseas visitors – particularly the British – have been holing up in TREMEZZO and neighbouring CADENABBIA; the latter’s Anglican church was the first in Italy (1891). Tremezzo is best known for Villa Carlotta (daily: April–Sept 9am–6pm; March & Oct 9am–noon & 2–4.30pm; €8; W www.villacarlotta.it), located on the lakefront road but best glimpsed from the water (it has its own ferry stop). Pink, white and exceptionally photogenic, this grand house – built in 1690 – was given by a Prussian princess to her daughter Carlotta as a wedding present. It now houses a collection of pompous eighteenth-century statuary, including Canova’s romantic Cupid & Psyche, and boasts beautifully ordered fourteen-acre gardens, rich with camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas. The villages in the hills above retain more character: tourist offices have details of walks that pass through charming GRIANTE, for example – where Casa Pini, Via Brentano 12/F (T 0344.37.302, W www.casapini.com; 2 ), is a pleasant little B&B, serving home-cooked food – or ROGARO, where you’ll find the familyrun farmhouse restaurant La Fagurida (T 0344.40.676; closed Mon), specializing in home-produced salumi, polenta and roast rabbit. Down on the waterfront, A Alberghetto della Marianna, Via Regina 57 (T 0344.43.095, W www.la-marianna .com; 2 ), is a very friendly family-run hotel with balconied rooms looking over the road to the water and a good, informal restaurant right on the lake. Menaggio
MENAGGIO, 37km north of Como, a lively and bustling village resort, is a good base for hiking and cycling in the mountains as well as sunbathing and swimming. Ferries dock about five minutes’ walk from the main lakefront square, Piazza Garibaldi, in and around which you’ll find most of Menaggio’s cafés and restaurants. The tourist office here (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm, Sun 10am–4pm; Nov–March closed Wed & Sun; T 0344.32.924, W www.menaggio .com) is unusually well organized, with information on everything including Menaggio’s numerous hiking possibilities. These range from a two-and-a-half hour walk to the pretty village of Codogna, to the Sentiero delle Quattro Valli, which leads for 50km through four valleys to Lugano in Switzerland. There’s a beach and vast pool at the Lido (end June to mid-Sept daily 9am–7pm), as well as waterskiing and other activities at Centro Lago Service on the waterfront. Accommodation
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Both Du Lac, Via Mazzini 27 (T 0344.35.281, W www.hoteldulacmenaggio .it; 4 ), and Garni Corona, Largo Cavour 3 (T 0344.32.006, W www.hotelgarni corona.com; 3 ; March–Nov), are comfortable, family-run hotels on the waterfront Piazza Garibaldi at the heart of the village. If you’re looking for something with more facilities, the Grand Hotel Menaggio, Via IV Novembre 69 (T 0344.30.640, W www.grandhotelmenaggio.com; 8 ; March–Oct), is the best of the grand hotels because of its lakeside swimming pool. Menaggio’s excellent HI hostel, Ostello La Primula, Via IV Novembre 86 (T 0344.32.356, W www .menaggiohostel.com; dorms €15; March–Oct), is just outside the village, with
small, clean dorms and a couple of family rooms: reservations are essential. It has its own small beach, bikes for rent and discounts on boat rental. The Europa campsite (T 0344.31.187; May–Sept) is just north of town. Eating and drinking
North of Menaggio
| Lake Como
REZZONICO is a wonderfully sleepy hamlet of cobbled lanes woven around a thirteenth-century castle, where Ristorante Lauro (T 348.264.6726, W www.hotel lauro.com; 1 ) offers simple meals and rooms. In STAZZONA – high above Dongo – the Antica Trattoria Vecchia Pira (T 0344.88.277; open dinner only & Sun lunch; closed Wed) is a tumbledown restaurant set above a rushing river, serving dishes such as smoked trout and artichoke risotto alongside local specialities (menu around €25). GRAVEDONA, 17km north of Menaggio, is one of the few towns on the lake as old as Como, with a lazy waterfront set around a curving bay. Stroll to Santa Maria del Tiglio, a handsome, striped church with a stunning lake-and-mountain backdrop. Above the main entrance is a fine twelfth-century carving of a centaur pursuing a deer; there are traces of thirteenth-century frescoes including The Last Judgement inside. Beyond Gravedona the terrain flattens out and there’s good sailing and windsurfing: see W www.gravedona.it for details of campsites and modest hotels in the vicinity.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
For self-caterers, the town boasts a couple of supermarkets and some good delicatessens. Menaggio’s best restaurants huddle around Piazza Garibaldi. A Il Ristorante di Paolo, under the Corona hotel at Largo Cavour 5 (T 0344.32.133; closed Tues) serves well-judged cuisine with excellent wines at good prices. The osteria Il Pozzo (T 0344.32.333; closed Wed), just round the corner, serves simpler dishes on a vine-covered terrace. If you want to be on the waterfront, Red Bay, Piazzale Vittorio Emanuele 7 (T 347.197.8605; closed Thurs), a five-minute stroll along the lake north of the village centre, is perfect for a drink or a meal right on the waterfront.
Bellagio Cradled by cypress-spiked hills on the tip of the Triangolo Lariano – the triangle of mountainous land between the Como and Lecco branches of the lake – BELLAGIO has been called the most beautiful town in Italy. With a promenade planted with oleanders and limes, fin-de-siècle hotels painted shades of butterscotch, peach and cream, and a hilly old quarter of steep cobbled streets and alleyways – to say nothing of its spectacular mid-lake location – it’s easy to see why Bellagio has become so popular. These days, the alleys are lined with upmarket souvenir shops; town life plays second fiddle to tourism but this is still a charming, attractive resort. Arrival, information and accommodation
Boats arrive frequently from Tremezzo, Cadenabbia, Menaggio and Varenna. Passenger ships and hydrofoils dock at the main Piazza Mazzini; car ferries dock 150m south by the car parks (you’re not permitted to drive through Bellagio unless you’re unloading at a hotel). By road, Bellagio is 30km from Como (served by bus #C30) on a narrow, scenic road coiling along the rocky cliffs. The tourist office, at the dock on lakefront Piazza Mazzini (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 1–6.30pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm & 1–2.30pm; T 031.950.204, W www.bellagiolakecomo .com), has information on activities including hiking, horseriding, mountain biking and watersports.
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Hotels
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Lake Como 192
Bellagio Salita Grandi 6 T 031.950.424, W www.hotelbellagio.it. An appealing modern hotel in one of Bellagio’s tallest buildings, with huge picture windows in many rooms. Go for the rooftop vistas from the fourth floor (especially the corner rooms 401 and 404). Use of the outdoor pools and sports facilities at Bellagio Sporting Club is included. 4 Belvedere Via Valassina 31 T031.950.410, Wwww.belvederebellagio.com. A modern threestar hotel in its own attractive grounds at the top of the town, with a swimming pool and wonderful views over the Lecco arm of the lake. April–Nov. 7 Giardinetto Via Roncati 12 T031.950.168, E
[email protected]. Simple one-star place at the top of Bellagio: some of the rooms have lake views and there’s a garden where you can picnic. Best of the budget options. No credit cards. March–Oct. 2
La Pergola Piazza del Porto 4, Pescallo T031.950.263, Wwww.lapergolabellagio.it. Stylish, en-suite rooms with balconies overlooking the lake and the vine-covered restaurant below in this enchanting fishing hamlet. It’s a good 15min walk over the hill from Bellagio, so you’ll probably need your own transport (or taxi). April–Nov. 3 Silvio Via Carcano 12 T031.950.322, Wwww .bellagiosilvio.com. Just out of town, this bright two-star has rooms with lake views, and an excellent restaurant serving home-made dishes featuring fish freshly caught by the friendly owner. April–Oct. 3
Campsite Camping Clarke Via Valassina 170/C T031.951.325, Wwww.bellagio-camping.com. A small, family-run campsite about a ten-minute drive out of town up the hill on Via Valassina. May–Sept.
The Town and around
Bellagio’s first hotel, the Genazzini, opened in 1825; its second, the Florence, opened in 1852. The two flank Bellagio’s scenic waterfront to this day, and passenger boats dock midway between them (the Genazzini is now the Metropole). The views from here westwards to the mountains above Cadenabbia are simply lovely; spending an afternoon watching the shadows lengthen, as the ferries parade to and fro, is pure Bellagio. The old quarter is tiny with three streets parallel to the waterfront connected by seven perpendicular stepped alleyways. At the top is the eleventh-century Romanesque church of San Giacomo, alongside a tower which is all that’s left of Bellagio’s medieval defences. A stroll 350m north brings you to the Punta Spartivento, the “Point Which Divides the Winds”, at the very tip of Bellagio’s promontory. There’s a little harbour here – nice for a cool dip – as well as a pleasant restaurant from which to enjoy the unique panorama. About ten minutes’ walk east of Bellagio on an attractive footpath through vineyards, the enchanting little harbour of Pescallo, a fishing port since Roman times, offers a tremendous view of the Grigne mountains looming over the Lecco branch of the lake. Bellagio is blessed with luxuriant flora; it’s worth booking for a guided tour of the gorgeous formal gardens of the Villa Serbelloni (April–Oct Tues–Sun 11am & 3.30pm; €8; buy tickets 15min in advance from the office on Piazza della Chiesa). The villa, now owned by the Rockefeller Foundation and maintained as a study centre, is splendidly sited on a hill above the town. At the foot of the hill sits the lavish and confusingly named Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni (T 031.950.216, W www.villaserbelloni.it; 9 ). South of town, the lake promenade continues for about 500m to the gardens of the Villa Melzi (April–Oct daily 9.30am–6.30pm; €6; W www.giardinidivilla melzi.it), a luxuriant affair crammed with azaleas, rhododendrons, ornamental lemon trees, cypresses, palms, camellias and even a sequoia. The gardens extend to the harbourside hamlet of Lóppia, a relatively quiet retreat after Bellagio. Eating and drinking
Prices are reasonable at Bellagio’s restaurants but they get busy, especially in summer, so booking is advisable. The best ice cream is at Il Sorbetto at the top of
Salita Serbelloni. BellagioPoint.com, Salita Plinio 8, offers the intriguing combination of internet access and wine tasting. excellent food – especially lake fish – at good prices, and offers lovely views over the Punta Spartivento. Closed Sun dinner. San Giacomo Salita Serbelloni T 031.950.329. A romantic trattoria with tables on the steps, with a small menu of good local dishes and decent wines; meals are about €25 a head. Closed Tues. Silvio Via Carcano 12 T 031.950.322, W www.bellagiosilvio.com. One of Bellagio’s most attractive dining spots, located just above nearby Lóppia. This is an excellent, modern restaurant attached to an old hotel; the views are beautiful, and the fish – freshly caught by Silvio himself – is superbly prepared (mains around €17).
Gazing back at Bellagio’s Punta Spartivento from the eastern shore of the lake, VARENNA is perhaps the loveliest spot on Lake Como. Free of through traffic, shaded by pines and planes and almost completely free of souvenir shops, the village oozes character. This is the quiet side of the lake, less visited and with fewer places to stay. North of Varenna is the attractive valley of Valchiavenna while to the south Lake Como forks to the southeast. This section – often dubbed “Lago di Lecco”, even though it is an integral part of the whole – is austere and fjord-like, at its most atmospheric in the morning mists. At its foot is the workaday town of Lecco itself above the brooding Grigne mountain range.
| Lake Como
Varenna and the eastern shore
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Alle Darsene di Loppia Lóppia T 031.952.069, W www.alledarsenediloppia.com. A quiet, attractive fish restaurant on Lóppia harbour, a little south of Bellagio. Closed Mon. La Barchetta Salita Mella 13 T031.951.389. The place in town to head for a gourmet treat on the rooftop under vines; downstairs on the cobbled lanes the sister trattoria Forma & Gusto serves simple meals with quality ingredients, including pizzas, from under €30 per head. Be guided by the affable maitre d’. Closed Tues. La Grotta Salita Cernaia 14. There’s decent woodfired pizza at this cosy place which serves meals till 1am. Credit cards accepted over €25. Closed Mon. La Punta Punta Spartivento T031.951.888. A five-minute walk north of town, this place serves
Arrival, information and accommodation
Thanks to its rocky shoreline, Varenna is split into two fragments. Boats dock to the north, above which stands the train station (reached from Milano Centrale via Lecco). Some 300m south via the main road – or the passarella, a scenic walkway which clings to the rocks – is the main village, with the tourist office (April–Sept Tues–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 3–5.30pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm; Oct–March Sat 10am–5pm; T 0341.830.367, W www.varennaitaly.com) on the central square near the D20 Lecco-Colico bus stop. Hotels Albergo del Sole Piazza San Giorgio 21 T 0341.815.218, W www.albergodelsole.lc.it. Excellent three-star hotel in the village centre. Rooms are light, airy and modern – some with lake views – and there’s a pizzeria too (see p.194). 3 Albergo Milano Via XX Settembre 29 T 0341.830.298, W www.varenna.net. One of Lake Como’s friendliest, most stylish small hotels lies in the narrow lanes between the square and the waterfront. Well run by a
charming couple, it has great views and a romantic air. Good food too (see p.194). Closed Dec–Feb. 4 Beretta Via per Esino 1 T 0341.830.132, Wwww.hotelberetta.it. Welcoming place near the train station that is the best of the cheaper options. 2 Du Lac Via del Prestino 11 T0341.830.238, Wwww.albergodulac.com. Spacious, comfortable rooms, most with lovely lake views in this relaxed, good-value hotel right on the water. Sit on the vineshaded terrace and drink in the views. 6
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The Village
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As well as the thirteenth-century San Giorgio on the main piazza, Varenna also hosts one of the oldest churches on the lake, the tenth-century San Giovanni Battista opposite, with well-preserved, fragmentary frescoes. Varenna’s other main sights are botanical: the nineteenth-century Villa Cipressi, on the southern fringe of the village, has terraced gardens (April–Oct daily 9am–7pm; €4) tumbling down to the lake that make a perfect spot to relax. The adjacent Villa Monastero gardens (April–Oct daily 9am–6pm, June–Sept until 7pm; €3) are even more lavish. The splendid house, built over a convent dissolved in 1569, is now used as a conference centre and hotel. A very steep twenty-minute walk up the steps opposite Villa Monastero leads to spectacular views from the landscaped ruins of the Castello di Vezio (April–Oct daily 10am–sunset; €4; W www .castellodivezio.it), allegedly founded by the Lombard Queen Theodolinda in the seventh century. There are falconry displays at weekends and a good little restaurant-café serving local specialities. Eating and drinking
| Lake Como
Albergo del Sole Piazza San Giorgio 21 T 0341.815.218. Fine, inexpensive pizzeria on the main square, with an attractive summer garden. Closed Wed. Albergo Milano Via XX Settembre 29 T 0341.830.298. Hide away on this beautiful little terrace for a romantic dinner of light, tasty Mediterranean cuisine. Expect to pay around €40. Dinner only, Mon & Wed–Sat. Il Cavatappi Via XX Settembre T0341.815.349, Wwww.ilcavatappiwine-food.it. Delightful restaurant,
tucked away in the thicket of lanes off the main square. The owner/manager/chef takes the time to discuss the menu with you before turning out simple, beautifully cooked dishes with first-class ingredients. Meals around €35 a head. Closed Wed. Vecchia Varenna Contrada Scoscesa T0341.830.793, W www.vecchiavarenna.it. In an unbeatable location, beneath the arcades on the lakeside promenade (book for a terrace table), with food that is good, though not outstanding. Closed Mon.
North of Varenna: into the Valchiavenna
About 16km north of Varenna, a minor road branches down to the tranquil Romanesque Abbazia di Piona (daily 9am–12.30pm & 1.30–6.30pm; W www .abbaziadipiona.it), perched on a headland. A shop by the gates sells bottles of the monks’ fiery herb liqueur. Last stop for ferries, at the top of the lake’s eastern shore, is industrial CÓLICO. Trains continue north of Cólico into the Valchiavenna, a flat-bottomed valley into which Lake Como extended as recently as Roman times. Make a beeline for the pleasant Alpine town of CHIAVENNA, to visit one of the many crotti, natural cellars in the rocks which for centuries have been used for maturing wine, salami, cured meats and cheeses. Most are now inns and restaurants; the finest is Crotto al Prato, Via Picchi 13 (from the station, cross the tracks and follow Via Pratogiano), where you can sit in the cosy stone interior or at terrace tables by the boules pitch with wonderful mountain views. The tourist office (Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; T 0343.33.442, W www.valtellina.it) is by the train station. South of Varenna: towards Lecco
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Past MANDELLO DEL LARIO, production centre of Italy’s famous Moto Guzzi motorbikes since 1921 – there’s a museum of vintage specimens at Via Parodi 57 (guided tours Mon–Fri 3pm; free; W www.motoguzzi.it) – stands LECCO, 30km east of Como at the foot of this branch of the lake. It’s a commercial centre with few attractions; literary types might appreciate Villa Manzoni, Via Guanella 7 (Tues–Sun 9.30am–5.30pm; €4), the childhood home of Alessandro
Manzoni, author of the great nineteenth-century Italian novel I Promessi Sposi (“The Betrothed”); otherwise, pop into the lakefront Basilica to see its fourteenthcentury Giottesque frescoes. Lecco’s tourist office is at Via Nazario Sauro 6, off the lakefront Piazza Garibaldi (daily 9am–1pm & 2.30–6.30pm; T 0341.295.720, W www.turismo.provincia.lecco.it), with information on mountain hikes in the isolated Valsássina.
Arrival and information
| Bergamo
Just 50km northeast of Milan, yet much closer to the mountains in look and feel, BERGAMO comprises two distinct parts – Bergamo Bassa, the city centre on the plain, and medieval Bergamo Alta, 100m above. Bergamo Bassa is a harmonious mixture of medieval cobbled quarters blending into late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century town planning, while Bergamo Alta is one of northern Italy’s loveliest urban centres, with wanderable lanes and a lively, easygoing pace of life. Bergamo owes much of its magic to the Venetians, who ruled the town for over 350 years, adorning facades and open spaces with the Venetian lion, symbol of the Republic, and leaving a ring of gated walls. Now worn, mellow and overgrown with creepers, these kept armies out until the French invaded in 1796.
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Bergamo
Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport (T 035.326.323, W www.orioaeroporto.it) lies 4km southeast of town. There’s a well-equipped tourist office (daily 8am–11pm; T 035.320.402, W www.turismo.bergamo.it) in the arrivals area, as well as kiosks selling bus tickets to Stazione Centrale in Milan (daily approx every 30min 4.30am–1am): Orioshuttle costs €9, while Autostradale charge €7.90 but offer three for the price of two. For Bergamo, take city bus #1 (daily every 30min 6am–midnight; €1.70, day-pass €3.50). Bergamo train station is at the end of Bergamo Bassa’s central avenue, Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, which becomes Via Vittorio Emanuele II. The bus station is just across the roundabout. Bus #1 runs frequently between the airport, the train station, the base station of the funicular (from where you can make the ascent to Bergamo Alta for no extra charge as long as you show your bus ticket; otherwise €1) and on to Colle Aperto at the top of the town – though some services stop short or follow variations; check timetables carefully. A hop-on, hop-off tourist bus also weaves between the main sights of the city (April–Nov daily 10am–5pm; €13; W www.bergamo.city-sightseeing.it). The city centre has two tourist offices (W www.provincia.bergamo.it /turismo): at the train station (daily 9am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; Oct–May closed Sat & Sun; T 035.210.204) and in Bergamo Alta in the Torre Gombito off Piazza Vecchia (daily 9am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; T 035.242.226). A guided walk in English starts from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe (April–Oct Wed & Sun 3pm; 2hr; €10).
Accommodation Bergamo’s accommodation is pricey and, in the centre, fairly limited: always book ahead. It’s also worth checking out B&Bs (see W www.bed-and-breakfast.it, www.bedandbergamo.it or www.bebilmondoincasa.com) – some are located in attractive buildings in Bergamo Alta.
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| Bergamo
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L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
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San Giorgio Via San Giorgio 10 T 035.212.043, Wwww.sangiorgioalbergo.it. A well-run and friendly hostel-like option, a five-minute walk from the station, offering various-sized, comfortable rooms with and without bathrooms, all spotless. 1 Sole Via Colleoni 1 T035.218.238, Wwww .ilsolebergamo.com. Just off the main square in Città Alta, this bright and breezy traditional hotel offers simple en-suite two-star rooms with little balconies looking over a back courtyard or the garden. 3
Hostel Nuovo Ostello di Bergamo Via Galileo Ferraris 1 T035.361.724, Wwww.ostellodibergamo.it. This award-winning HI hostel has bathrooms in every room, bicycles for rent and a rooftop terrace with great views. There are doubles, triple and quads as well as dorms. It’s a fair way from the centre: bus #3 from Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe in the Città Alta runs to the door. Dorms €18, rooms 1
With its steep, narrow streets, flanked by high facades and encircled by sixteenthcentury walls, Bergamo Alta – the upper town – remains in appearance largely as it was in the Middle Ages. The main public spaces – Piazza Vecchia and adjacent Piazza del Duomo – combine medieval austerity with the grace of later, Renaissance design. The main street, beginning as Via Gombito and continuing as Via Colleoni, follows the line of the Roman decumanus maximus, topped and tailed by evidence of Bergamo’s military past – the Rocca to the east, the Cittadella to the west.
| Bergamo
Bergamo Alta: the upper town
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Agnello d’Oro Via Gombito 22 T035.249.883, Wwww.agnellodoro.it. In the heart of the upper town, this cosy two-star offers plain but comfortable en-suite rooms, some with balconies. 2 Gourmet Via San Vigilio 1 T 035.437.3004, W www.gourmet-bg.it. Just above Città Alta, with spacious, modern rooms with rather standard furnishings but wonderful views. The restaurant serves local staples. 3 Mercure Palazzo Dolci Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII 100 T035.227.411, Wwww.mercure.com. Four-star chain hotel near the station. Anonymous but stylish, convenient and excellent value, it has swish contemporary interiors and good soundproofing. 4 Piazza Vecchia Via Colleoni 3 T035.253.179, W www.hotelpiazzavecchia.it. Three-star hotel in a medieval building on Bergamo Alta’s main “street” (a pedestrianized alley). The 13 arty rooms feature fresh, contemporary design – but service can be less than forthcoming. 5
Piazza Vecchia
From the upper funicular station on Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe, narrow Via Gombito leads up to Bergamo’s magnificent Piazza Vecchia, enclosed by a harmonious miscellany of buildings, ranging from wrought-iron-balconied houses containing cafés and restaurants to the opulent Palladian-style civic library. Stendhal dubbed this “the most beautiful square on earth”, and it’s certainly a striking space. The most imposing presence is the medieval Palazzo della Ragione, a Venetian-Gothic building stretching right across the piazza opposite the library. Court cases used to be heard under the open arcades that form the ground floor. A grand covered stairway, dating from 1453, rises from alongside. The piazza was the scene of joyous celebrations in 1797, when the French formed the Republic of Bergamo: the square was carpeted with tapestries and transformed into an open-air ballroom in which – as a symbol of the new democracy – dances were led by an aristocrat partnered by a butcher. Until 2013, while Bergamo’s prestigious Accademia Carrara gallery is closed for renovation, the Palazzo della Ragione is housing around a hundred of its masterpieces ( June–Sept Tues–Fri & Sun 10am–9pm, Sat 10am–11pm; Oct–May Tues–Fri 9.30am–5.30pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; €5; W www.accademiacarrara .bergamo.it). At the time of writing the layout had not been determined; it seems likely, though, that you will be able to view Titian’s remarkable Virgin and Child, painted at the age of 27, a touchingly effeminate St Sebastian by the young Raphael and Botticelli’s startlingly modern Portrait of Giuliano de’ Medici – among many other works.
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To the right of the palazzo looms the massive Torre Civica, or Campanone, which you can ascend by lift (April–Oct Tues–Fri 9.30am–7pm, Sat & Sun 9.30am–9.30pm; Nov–March Sat & Sun 9.30am–4.30pm; €3). Its seventeenthcentury bell, which narrowly escaped being melted down by the Germans during World War II, still tolls every half-hour. Piazza del Duomo L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Bergamo
Walk beneath the Palazzo della Ragione’s arcades to enter Piazza del Duomo – a small, cramped space where the Duomo (under renovation) is of less interest than Santa Maria Maggiore alongside (Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm), a rambling Romanesque church with a scalloped Gothic porch. Inside, it is a perfect example of high Baroque, its ceiling marzipanned with ornament, encrusted with gilded stucco, painted vignettes and languishing statues. Look for the kitsch nineteenth-century monument to Donizetti, the Bergamo-born composer of comic opera: bas-relief putti stamp their feet and smash their lyres in misery at his death. More subtly, the intarsia biblical scenes on the choir stalls – designed by Lorenzo Lotto, and executed by a local craftsman – are remarkable not only for their intricacy but also for the incredible colour-range of the natural wood. Even the glitziness of Santa Maria is overshadowed by the Renaissance decoration of the Cappella Colleoni next door (Tues–Sun 9am–12.30pm & 2–6pm). Commissioned by Bartolomeo Colleoni, a Bergamo mercenary in the pay of Venice, and built onto the church in the 1470s, the chapel is an extravagant confection of pastel-coloured marble carved into an abundance of miniature arcades, balustrades and twisted columns, capped with a mosque-like dome. The opulent interior, with its frescoed ceiling, shelters Colleoni’s sarcophagus, topped with a gilded equestrian statue; the tomb of his fifteen-year-old daughter, Medea, is more modest. Note Colleoni’s coat of arms on the gate as you enter; the smoothness of the decorative third “testicle” (supposedly biologically accurate) bears witness to the local tradition that rubbing it will bring you luck. Outside on the square is the free-standing Baptistry (kept locked), which was removed from the interior of Santa Maria Maggiore in the seventeenth century. Around Piazza Vecchia
From the south door of Santa Maria Maggiore, Via Arena climbs towards the west end of the Città Alta. Partway up at number 9, a frescoed doorway opens into the grounds of the Santa Grata monastery, also home to the Museo Donizettiano (Tues–Sun 9.30am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; €3; W www.bergamoestoria.org). One of the masters of the “bel canto” opera style (along with Bellini and Rossini), Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848), who was born and died in Bergamo, is celebrated for his melodramatic lyricism, which reached a peak in Lucia di Lammermoor. The museum contains portraits of the maestro, original letters and scores, as well as his fortepiano and imperial-style bed. Via San Lorenzo heads north from the Torre Gombito near Piazza Vecchia down to the Museo Storico (Tues–Sun 9.30am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; €3). Housed on Piazza Mercato del Fieno in the ex-convent of San Francesco, with a beautiful thirteenth-century cloister, it spans the history of the city from the eighteenth century to 1945. Following Via Solata east from here leads on a short climb to the Rocca, rebuilt in the 1330s, from where spectacular views encompass eastern Bergamo. 198
Towards the Colle Aperto and San Vigilio
Leading northwest out of Piazza Vecchia, the narrow, pedestrianized Via Colleoni is lined with boutiques, delicatessens and pastry shops selling sweet
Bergamo Bassa: the lower town
| Bergamo
Bergamo Bassa spreads north from the train station in a comfortable blend of Neoclassical ostentation, Fascist severity and tree-lined elegance. At the heart of the busy streets, midway along the main Viale Papa Giovanni XXIII, the mockDoric temples of the Porta Nuova mark the Sentierone, a favourite spot for Bergamo’s citizens to meet and stroll. Frowning down on the square is the Palazzo di Giustizia, built in the bombastic rectangular style of the Mussolini era. Via XX Settembre to the west is the main focus for Bergamo’s shoppers, with a selection of quality mainstream stores. From the Sentierone, Via Tasso leads east into the oldest part of the Città Bassa, formed in the Middle Ages as overspill from the upper town; shady Via Pignolo has a largely unchanged appearance, with many architectural features – balconies, mullioned windows – surviving. Follow it up to the attractive Piazzetta del Delfino, occupied by a dolphin fountain built here in 1526. From here, Via Pignolo continues to the Porta Sant’Agostino, at the bottom of Bergamo Alta, while Via San Tomaso, packed with galleries, antiques shops and cafés, heads right towards the Accademia Carrara – Bergamo’s finest art gallery, closed for renovation until 2013 – and its neighbour, the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea (GAM), Via San Tomaso 82 (W www.gamec.it; hours and admission vary), with world-class temporary exhibitions and a small permanent collection including works by Kandinsky and a moody Still Life With Fruit by surrealist Giorgio de Chirico.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
polenta cakes topped with chocolate birds. At the top of the street, Piazza Mascheroni lies at the entrance to the Cittadella, a military stronghold built by Barnabo Visconti, now housing a small theatre and two didactic (Italian labelling only) museums of archeology and natural history. Beyond the Cittadella lies the Colle Aperto, open hillside beyond the city walls. From here you can either walk back through the city or follow the old walls – the whole circuit takes a couple of hours, with the most picturesque stretch lying between the Colle Aperto and Porta San Giacomo (from where a long flight of steps leads down into Bergamo Bassa). For the best views, head up through the Porta Sant’Alessandro, leading off Colle Aperto, towards San Vigilio: a funicular does the short journey but the walk is pleasant, up a steep, narrow road overlooking the gardens of Bergamo’s most desirable properties. At the top perches the Castello, alongside a sprinkling of (pricey) bars and restaurants and more wonderful views.
Eating and drinking One of the pleasures of Bergamo is its food, whether you’re assembling picnics from the many salumerie and bakeries in the upper town – most lining the main streets of Via Gombito and Via Colleoni – or grazing around the city’s osterie. The town’s culinary attractions are headed by game – hunting the local wildlife is a major pastime – as well as the signature dishes of polenta and casoncelli, ravioli stuffed with sausage meat and served with sage butter. Book ahead whenever possible. You’ll find the best ice cream under the luxuriant balconies of La Mariana on Largo Colle Aperto, Bergamo’s oldest pasticceria. Baretto di San Vigilio Via Castello 1 T 035.253.191, Wwww.baretto.it. An unbeatable choice of excellent dishes on an attractive vinecovered terrace with spectacular views. Prices reflect the location – at the top station of the San
Vigilio funicular – so expect to pay more than €50 per head. Closed Mon. Caffè Funicolare In the funicular station on Piazza Mercato delle Scarpe. Good-value snacks and drinks served on a terrace with a
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great view over Città Bassa. Open until 2am. Closed Tues. Cooperativa Città Alta Vicolo Sant’Agata, signposted off Via Colleoni. This cooperative venture – a cheery amalgam of café, restaurant and bar (open until 2am) – boasts good food at low prices, a happy hour on Thursdays and a garden with views of the hills. Closed Wed. Donizetti Via Gombito 17/A T 035.242.661, Wwww.donizetti.it. Excellent place for a slap-up meal or a degustazione platter of local meats and cheeses washed down with fine wine. Inside is warm and welcoming; in summer tables are laid out in the covered market space. La Colombina Via Borgo Canale 12 T 035.261.402. A wonderful little trattoria with tasty, good-value Bergamasco food and glorious
views (ask for a table by the window when you book). Closed Mon & Tues. San Vigilio Via San Vigilio 35 T035.253.188. Informal restaurant with tasty pizzas from a woodburning oven plus well-judged, creative dishes. Reserve a table by the window for views across the nearby villas with their splendid gardens to the plains. Closed Wed. Sole Via Colleoni 1 T035.218.238. A popular restaurant attached to the eponymous hotel, serving traditional local specialities and fish in an attractive garden in summer. Closed Thurs. Vineria Cozzi Via Colleoni 22/A T035.238.836, Wwww.vineriacozzi.it. A classy wine-bar with around three hundred wines to choose from, as well as excellent local cooking. Closed Wed.
| Brescia
Brescia Surrounded by vine-covered hills, the ancient settlement of BRESCIA is a wealthy city, boasting Roman remains, Renaissance squares and a medieval city centre juxtaposed with important twentieth-century architecture. Yet for all this, it lacks the elegance and charm of other northern-Italian cities and you’d do best to visit its sights in a day and then head on your way – easy, as the town is well connected by road, rail and bus.
Arrival, information and accommodation
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Verona-Brescia airport (T 030.965.6599, W www.bresciaairport.com; also known as Gabriele D’Annunzio) is 23km southeast near Montichiari; flights are met by buses shuttling to Brescia (25min; €7.50) and Verona (45min; €11). Brescia lies just off the A4 autostrada and is a principal stop for trains on the main line between Milan and Venice (as well as slower trains from Lecco, Bergamo and Cremona). Buses (W www.trasportibrescia.it) serve Verona, Mantua and Lake Garda. The train station – flanked by two bus stations – is a dull fifteen-minute walk from the centre; it’s best to cross the road for city bus #1 (direction Mombello) or #2 (direction Pendolina), which both head into the centre: buy tickets (€1 valid 75min; €2.80 valid 24hr) from the driver or the shop by the bus stop. While the new metro is under construction (due to open in 2014), expect roadworks and traffic disruption. The tourist office is at Piazza della Loggia 13 (Mon–Sat 9.30am–6.30pm, Sun 10am–6pm; T 030.240.0357, W www.bresciatourism.it). As for accommodation, the Orologio, Via Beccaria 17 (T 030.375.5411, W www.albergoorologio.it; 4 ), is in an attractive medieval building that has been transformed into a three-star boutique hotel. Rooms have been updated with a good deal of taste, matching the warm welcome and genial service. The Ambasciatori, Via Crocefissa di Rosa 90 (T 030.399.114, W www.ambasciatori .net; 4 ), is a fine, family-run four-star occupying an ugly modern building 1km north of the centre, with spacious rooms and good facilities. There’s free parking and bus #1 stops outside. Best of the budget options is the Trento, Piazza Battisti 31 (T 030.380.768; 2 ), a decent two-star on a busy square just north of the centre; take bus #7 from the train station.
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The City Brescia’s centre comprises a compact cluster of piazzas linked by cobbled streets. The main square, Piazza della Loggia, is also the prettiest, dating from 1433, when the city invited Venice to protect it from Milan’s power-hungry Viscontis. The Venetian influence is clearest in the fancy Loggia, in which both Palladio and Titian had a hand, and the Torre dell’Orologio, modelled on the campanile in Venice’s Piazza San Marco. Below it, a monument commemorates the Fascist bombing, in 1974, of a trade-union rally here, in which eight people were killed and over a hundred injured: you can still see the blast damage on the pillar. Alongside is the Porta Bruciata, a defensive medieval tower-gate. Streets connect south into the austere, Fascist-built Piazza della Vittoria, under the stern gaze of the monumental post office building. Passages from Piazza della Loggia and Piazza della Vittoria lead east across galleried Via Dieci Giornate through to Piazza Paolo VI, one of the few squares in Italy to have two cathedrals – though, frankly, it would have been better off without the chilly Duomo Nuovo (Mon–Sat 7.30am–noon & 4–7pm, Sun 8am–1pm & 4–7pm), its grim Neoclassical facade concealing a tall cupola. Much more appealing is the adjacent twelfth-century Duomo Vecchio, or Rotonda (Tues–Sun: April–Oct 9am–noon & 3–7pm; Nov–March 10am–noon & 3–6pm), a unique circular church of local stone, sunk below the current level of the piazza.
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| Brescia
Inside, glass set into the transept pavement reveals the remains of Roman baths (a wall and geometrical mosaics) and the apse of an eighth-century basilica, which burned down in 1097. From the top end of the square, Via dei Musei marks the decumanus maximus (east– west road) of the Roman settlement of Brixia; a short walk east brings you to Piazza del Foro, built over the ancient forum (which was substantially larger than the current square). Dominating the area are the tall columns of the Tempio Capitolino (daily 11am–4pm; free), a Roman temple built in 73 AD, now partly reconstructed with red brick. Adjacent to the east is a part-excavated Roman theatre. A short walk further along Via dei Musei is Brescia’s civic museum of Santa Giulia (Tues–Sun: June–Sept 9am–7pm; Oct–May 10am–6pm; €8; W www .bresciamusei.com), housed in an ex-Benedictine convent built over what was a Roman quarter of frescoed villas. The layers of history on show, and the wellorganized layout, make this well worth an hour or two. Inside are three churches: twelfth-century San Salvatore, which includes remains of a crypt built in 762; Santa Maria in Solario, covered in frescoes painted mainly by the Renaissance artist Floriano Ferramola; and the late sixteenth-century church of Santa Giulia, with further frescoes by Ferramola. The museum holds a collection of artefacts chronicling the city’s history, including a life-sized Roman Winged Victory in bronze, beautifully preserved Roman mosaic floors and the eighth-century wooden cross of Desiderius, studded with more than two hundred gemstones. The complex also stages major art exhibitions (W www.lineadombra.it). Behind the museum, Via Piamarta climbs the Cydnean Hill, the core of early Roman Brixia (though remains are scanty), topped by the Castello (daily 8am–8pm; free), begun in the fifteenth century by Luchino Visconti and added to by the Venetians, French and Austrians. The resulting confusion of towers, ramparts, halls and courtyards makes a good place for an atmospheric picnic. A short walk south of Santa Giulia, Brescia’s main art gallery, the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo, Via Martinengo da Barco 1 (W www.bresciamusei.com), was closed at the time of writing but during restoration works highlights will be on show at the Santa Giulia complex. These will no doubt include two masterpieces by Raphael – an Angel and a Risen Christ – and Moretto’s chilling Passion (c.1550), depicting a reproachful Christ slouched before an angry, tearful angel.
Eating and drinking Central Brescia has plenty of reasonably priced places to eat, specializing in local dishes such as casoncei (large meat-filled ravioli) and brasato d’asino (donkey stew). Many menus feature pasta stuffed with (or polenta smothered in) bagòss, a local cheese – rich, spicy and flavourful. Piazzale Arnaldo to the east of the centre has a clutch of café-bars that fill up quickly after work and stay buzzing into the small hours.
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Al Bianchi Via Gasparo da Salò 30 T030.292.328, Wwww.osteriaalbianchi.it. Historic restaurant in a quiet central location. A popular spot, serving a variety of tasty, moderately priced local dishes, specializing in Brescian meaty mains. Closed Tues dinner & Wed. Al Granaio Piazzale Arnaldo T030.375.9345. A fine osteria under the arcades of the old city granary. The covered terrace is an atmospheric place for lunch, and is candlelit after dark. The food is moderately priced local fare, with a broad choice of wines. Closed Mon.
Osteria dell’Elfo Piazza Vescovato 1/B T030.377.4858. Decent little restaurant on this central square, with terrace tables catering to the pre- and post-theatre crowd – think salads and light meals of pasta and fish. Closed Tues. Osteria La Grotta Vicolo del Prezzemolo 10 T030.44.068, Wwww.osterialagrotta.it. Charming little spot with an atmospheric interior and a menu centred on its own, high-quality salumi and other local specialities. Expect to pay around €35. Closed Wed.
Lake Garda
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Lake Garda
LAKE GARDA (Lago di Garda) is the largest lake in Italy (52km long by 17km wide): it’s so big that it alters the local climate, which is milder and – thanks to a complex pattern of lake breezes – sunnier than might be expected. It’s also the most popular of the lakes, handling around seven percent of all tourists to Italy and acting as a bridge between the Alps and the rest of the country. The narrow north of the lake is tightly enclosed by mountains that drop sheer into the water with villages wedged into gaps in the cliffs. Further south, the lake spreads out comfortably, flanked by gentle hills and lined by placid holiday resorts. In the south, Desenzano is a cheery spot with the advantage of good transport links, plus proximity to scenically impressive Sirmione. On the western shore are lovely Salò and Gargnano, the lake’s best destination, a small village that remains largely unspoilt. In the north, Riva del Garda – the lake’s best-known holiday spot – is a charming small town with a long history and focal point for sports and water activities. On the eastern shore, Malcesine is too popular for its own good, though Torri del Benaco is another attractive corner that has avoided the worst of the crowds. For information on resorts and activities all round the lake, consult W www.visitgarda.com. Note that Garda’s resorts are packed with holiday-makers in summer, both northern Europeans and Italian families alike, many attracted by the variety of watersports and mountain activities on offer. Trying to move around – to say nothing of enjoying the tranquillity of the lake – is not easy on frenetic summer weekends, when you should expect heavy traffic on the scenic lakeshore road (which has one lane in each direction, often squeezing through dimly lit tunnels). Regular buses ply both shores but travelling by boat is the most relaxing option, with at least hourly services between the main resorts. Two car ferries cross the lake (Maderno–Torri del Benaco, and Limone–Malcesine).
The southern shore Served by the Milan–Venice autostrada and railway – and with regular buses from Brescia – DESENZANO DEL GARDA, the lake’s largest town, is handy for stopping off to sample a taste of Garda’s atmosphere. Its lakefront squares – Piazza Malvezzi and Piazza Matteotti, lined with bars and restaurants – are attractive, sitting alongside the Roman villa on Via Crocifisso (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7pm; Nov–Feb closes 4.30pm; €2), displaying some good mosaics, and loomed over by the castle, from where there are spectacular views. Boats depart from Piazza Matteotti for destinations all round the shore. SIRMIONE, 9km east, is a beautiful village spread along a narrow promontory sticking out into the lake. It’s in a striking location, though in season is suffocated with hotels, souvenir stands and holiday-makers, many of whom come to take the waters: Sirmione is one of northern Italy’s top spa destinations. The ferry dock on Piazza Carducci adjoins Piazza Castello, site of the Rocca Scaligera (Tues–Sun 8.30am–7pm; €4), a fairytale castle with boxy towers almost entirely surrounded by water, built by the Della Scala of Verona in the thirteenth century. Press on through the crowded lanes of the village and out to the cypress-clad hills at the head of the peninsula, where stands the Grotte di Catullo (Tues–Sat 8.30am–7pm, Sun until 5pm; Nov–Feb closes 5pm; €4), the remains of a first century BC/AD Roman villa, purportedly belonging to Roman poet Catullus, though the evidence is scant. The ruins, scattered among ancient olive trees, are lovely, and offer superb views across the lake. From partway along the path, head down to water level for the Lido delle Bionde (May–Oct daily 8am–midnight; €8), a beach where you
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Garda’s theme parks
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If you have kids to amuse, head for one of the theme parks east of Sirmione, served by free shuttle buses from Peschiera train station. The biggest is Gardaland (March– Sept daily 10am–6pm; June–Aug until midnight; T045.644.9777, Wwww.gardaland .it; €35, children under 10 €29, family tickets available). You pay extra for some of the attractions, but its rides and themed entertainments are exciting and well presented. Nearby is Canevaworld (T045.696.9900, Wwww.canevaworld.it), comprising two adjacent parks: Movieland (March–Sept daily 10am–6pm; July & Aug open later), with fake movie sets and special-effects shows; and AquaParadise (May–Sept daily 10am–6pm; July & Aug until 7pm), with slides, flumes, pools and a pirate island. Admission to either Movieland or AquaParadise is €24 (€19 for children under 1.4m); admission to both costs €34/29.
can eat, drink, swim in the lake or sunbathe on the pontoon or nearby rocks. From Sirmione, boats head back to Desenzano or on to resorts such as Garda, Torri del Benaco and Salò.
| Lake Garda
The western shore The rolling hills of the Valtenesi, overlooking the western shore north of Desenzano, are a good place to stock up on local produce, as much of the area is dedicated to vine and olive growing. In addition, it has plenty of lakeside campsites which make for a cheap stay. Not far from the old Venetian town of Salò stands the exuberant villa Il Vittoriale, once home to poet Gabriele D’Annunzio. Around Gargnano – the most attractive and unspoilt of the lake villages – the western shore is dubbed the Riviera del Limone for the citrus orchards that once flourished here. The crop, introduced by the Franciscans in the fourteenth century, was cultivated in the limonaie, or “lemon-houses” that are still in evidence, although most of the stone-pillared constructions are now abandoned. North of Gargnano the mountainous scenery is spectacular on the approach to the genteel resort of Riva del Garda at the head of the lake. Salò, Gardone Riviera and around
SALÒ, splendidly sited on its own bay, is one of Garda’s more handsome towns. Capital of the Magnifica Patria – a grouping of lake communes – for more than four hundred years until the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, it retains something of its old-fashioned hauteur, exemplified by the grand seventeenthcentury town hall, directly on the lakefront by the ferry dock, and the unfinished Renaissance facade of the Duomo, which holds paintings by Romanino. From 1943 to 1945, Salò was the nominal capital of Italy, as the Nazis installed Mussolini here at the head of a puppet regime in a failed attempt to hold off the Allied advance. Just 2km east, GARDONE RIVIERA was once the most fashionable of Lake Garda’s resorts; it retains its symbols of sophistication, though the elegant promenade, opulent villas and ritzy hotels now have to compete with more recent – less tasteful – tourist tack. Above the town nestles the exotic Giardino Botanico André Heller (March–Oct daily 9am–7pm; €9), with bamboo and banana plants laid out among artificial cliffs and streams among modern artworks. Il Vittoriale 204
On the hillside above Gardone, Il Vittoriale (Tues–Sun 8.30am–8pm; Oct–March 9am–1pm & 2–5pm; €16; W www.vittoriale.it) was the home of Italy’s most notorious twentieth-century writer, Gabriele D’Annunzio (see box opposite).
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
| Lake Garda
Tickets can be restricted at peak times (Sun, national holidays, some days in July & Aug), when you should arrive an hour or more before the opening time to be sure of entry. Even then, be prepared for a scrum. You can pay less to visit the gardens only (€7, which means you miss out on D’Annunzio’s house, the Prioria), or an extra €4 to see the adjoining Museo della Guerra (War Museum; closed Wed), which isn’t worth it. D’Annunzio’s personality makes itself felt from the start in the Prioria’s two reception rooms – one a chilly and formal room for guests he didn’t like, the other warm and inviting for those he did. Mussolini was apparently shown to the former, where the mirror has an inscription reputedly aimed at him: “Remember that you are made of glass and I of steel.” Dining with D’Annunzio was never a reassuring experience: in the glitzy dining room, as a warning to greedy guests, pride of place was given to a gilded tortoise that had died of overeating. The rest of the house is no less bizarre: the bathroom has a bathtub hemmed in by hundreds of objects, ranging from Persian ceramic tiles and Buddhas to toy animals; and the Sala del Mappamondo, as well as the huge globe for which it is named, contains an Austrian machine gun and an oversized edition of The Divine Comedy. Suspended from the ceiling of the auditorium adjoining the house is the biplane that D’Annunzio used in a daring flight over Vienna in World War I. Outside amid the cypress trees is the prow of the battleship Puglia used in D’Annunzio’s so-called “Fiume adventure”. Fiume (now Rijeka), on the North Adriatic, had been promised to Italy before they entered World War I, but was handed to Yugoslavia instead. Incensed, D’Annunzio gathered an army, occupied Fiume and returned home a hero. Amid the gardens above stands D’Annunzio’s mausoleum, a Fascistic array of angular travertine stonework. Practicalities
Salò’s tourist office is behind the town hall on Piazza Sant’Antonio (Mon–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 3–6pm, Sun 10am–1pm & 3.30–6.30pm; T 0365.21.423, W www.rivieradeilimoni.it). The four-star hotel Bellerive, Via Pietro da Salò 11 (T 0365.520.410, W www.hotelbellerive.it; 5 ; closed Dec & Jan), offers tasteful modern rooms with balconies and designer bathrooms and an excellent restaurant; otherwise aim for Benaco, a decent three-star at Lungolago Zanardelli 44 (T 0365.20.308, W www.benacohotel.com; 3 ), with a fine roof terrace. In Vino Veritas, Via Duomo 7 (closed Mon), is a genial restaurant for wine tasting and light bites, while Osteria di Mezzo, Via di Mezzo 10, is a cosy, informal back-lane place. Atmospheric Osteria dell’Orologio, Via Butturini 26/A (T 0365.290.158; closed Wed), serves more upmarket fish and game specialities. In Gardone Sopra – the
Gabriele D’Annunzio Born in 1863, Gaetano Rapagnetta – who took the name Gabriele D’Annunzio (Gabriel of the Annunciation) – is often acclaimed as one of Italy’s greatest poets, though he became better known as a soldier and socialite, leading his own private army and indulging in much-publicized affairs with numerous women, including the actress Eleonora Duse (when berated by his friends for treating her cruelly, he simply replied, “I gave her everything, even suffering.”) He was a fervent supporter of Mussolini, providing the Fascist Party with their (meaningless) war cry “eia! eia! alalá!” – though Mussolini eventually found his excessive exhibitionism an embarrassment and in 1921 presented D’Annunzio with the Vittoriale villa, ostensibly to reward his patriotism, in reality to shut him up. D’Annunzio died in the house in 1938, suffering a brain haemorrhage while sitting at his desk in the Zambracca room, which remains untouched.
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hillside quarter around Il Vittoriale – La Stalla, Via dei Colli 14 (T 0365.21.038; closed Tues), serves well-priced staples in a tranquil garden, not far from peaceful Locanda Agli Angeli, Piazza Garibaldi 2 (T 0365.20.832, W www.agliangeli.com; closed Mon & Tues), a family-run restaurant serving top-quality lake fish and homecured meats, also with a few airy, attractive rooms (4). San Michele L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
In the mountains 500m above Gardone stands the pretty village of SAN MICHELE. Three buses (Mon–Sat only) run from Salò and Gardone, but as the views along the road are splendid, you might want to walk the hour or so uphill; the tourist office can advise on short cuts that divert onto hillside tracks. In the village, Hotel Colombér, Via Val di Sur 111 (T 0365.21.108, W www.colomber .com; 3 ), has comfortable en-suite rooms (some with balconies), a pool and a decent restaurant serving local specialities. It’s a good base if you want to do some walking to the springs and waterfalls in the surrounding hills; the owners can give suggestions. Gargnano
| Lake Garda
Some 15km north of Salò is GARGNANO, the prettiest village on Lake Garda. Traffic runs above and slightly inland here, leaving the old village itself noisefree. In addition, the narrow, difficult road north of town means tour buses don’t bother trying to reach Gargnano, saving it from the worst excesses of Lakes tourism. Still more a working village than a resort, it’s the perfect spot to unwind for a day or two and wander around the abandoned olive factory or the lakefront villas with their boathouses, or just to relax in one of the waterfront cafés. D.H. Lawrence stayed here while writing Twilight in Italy, a work which is beautifully evocative of Lake Garda’s attractions. Arrival, information and activities
Buses stop at Piazza Boldini on the main road, opposite the tourist office (Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm & 5–7pm, closed Wed afternoon & Thurs morning; T 0365.791.243, W www.gargnanosulgarda.it). It’s a short walk down past the church to the jetty beside the old harbour. There’s more information at W www .gargnanosulgarda.com. OKSurf, at Parco Fontanella (T 328.471.7777, W www.oksurf.it), runs windsurfing, sailing and kitesurfing courses, and also rents electric and mountain bikes (€20–30 a day) plus GPS-guided routes in the surrounding hills. For a weekend in early September, Gargnano hosts the Centomiglia sailing event, with hundreds of yachts racing from nearby Bogliaco all round the lake and back. Accommodation
The accommoation options in Gargnano happily match its charm. From budget to secluded comfort there are pleasant, family-run options for all pockets.
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Gardenia Via Colletta 53 T 0365.71.195, Wwww .hotel-gardenia.it. Excellent family-run choice right on the water offering spacious guest rooms with handsome furniture, a pretty garden and good terrace restaurant. 3 Hotel du Lac Via Colletta 23 T0365.522.131, W www.hotel-dulac.it. With the same owners as the Gardenia, you receive the same friendly service and attractive furnishings but with fewer public spaces, a reduced terrace and cheaper prices. 3
Riviera Via Roma 1 T0365.472.292, Wwww .garniriviera.it. In the centre of the village, pleasant two-star rooms are equipped with spotless bathrooms; some rooms look over the water. There's a lovely terrace on the lakefront where breakfast is served in summer. 2 Villa Sostaga Via Sostaga 16, Navazzo T 0365.791.218, W www.villasostaga .com. Eight switchback kilometres above the village, Villa Sostaga is a beautiful bolthole
with dreamy views across the lake, attractive gardens and a swimming pool to complement the bright spacious rooms with period furniture
and the charming treatment of the Seresina family. Very good restaurant too (open to non-residents). 6
The Town
Eating and drinking
Gargnano has a good choice of restaurants, and various places around the harbour serve snacks and ice cream. Miralago 5 Lungolago Zanardelli T0365.71.209. Overlooking the lake by the jetty, this restaurant offers excellent pan-Italian dishes. Closed Sun dinner. Osteria del Restauro Piazza Villa 19 T0365.72.643. South of town along the lakeside lanes to the part of town called “Villa”, this idyllically located osteria serves good, inexpensive local cuisine at outdoor tables on the piazza by a tiny marina. Closed Wed.
| Lake Garda
Bar Vittorio Piazza Villa. This locals’ bar is an unbeatable place for a drink or simple snack right on the water in the part of the village known as “Villa”. Closed Tues. La Tortuga Via XXIV Maggio T 0365.71.251. Just behind La Tortuga, this is a cosy foodie haven offering top-quality creative cuisine with a local bent; expect to pay €80 a head. Dinner only; closed Mon & Tues.
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Apart from the harbourside ex-Palazzo Comunale, which has two cannonballs wedged in the wall facing the lake – dating from the naval bombings suffered in 1866 during the war of independence from the Austrians – the main sight is the church of San Francesco, built in 1289; its cloister has columns carved with citrus fruits, a reference to the Franciscans’ introduction of the crop to Europe. A stroll along the road which leads north from the harbour takes you for 3km through olive and lemon groves, past the exclusive luxury hotel Villa Feltrinelli, to the eleventh-century chapel of San Giacomo di Calino. On the side facing the lake, under the portico where the local fishermen keep their equipment, is a thirteenthcentury fresco of St Christopher, patron saint of travellers.
North of Gargnano
North of Gargnano the lake road skirts the water, passing through treacherously narrow road tunnels. Just after the windsurfing destination Campione del Garda there’s a turning to the village of Pieve in the Tremosine. Not for the faint hearted or large vehicles, the narrow SP38 road, described by Winston Churchill as “the eighth wonder of the world”, switchbacks its way up the mountain through the scenic Brasa gorge to the Alpine plains above. The last town in Lombardy, 20km from Gargnano on a tongue of land surrounded by rugged mountains, is LIMONE SUL GARDA (W www.visit limonesulgarda.com). Although famous for its lemon cultivation – a commercial concern until the 1920s – the name derives from its location at what was the frontier (limen in Latin) of Roman control. Limone is undeniably pretty, but it is utterly overrun. A million tourists a year stay here, not counting the vast numbers who visit for the day; all this in a village with a settled population of just one thousand. The steep, cobbled streets are lined with stalls selling souvenirs, leather jackets and sequined T-shirts; the old stone facades are studded with plastic signs advertising restaurants and hotels; and as you elbow your way through the crowds you’ll dig into more German and British ribs than Italian. It’s best admired from afar. Riva del Garda
Dramatically located beneath sheer cliffs at the northwest tip of the lake, RIVA DEL GARDA is the best known of the lake’s resorts. It is unmistakeably a holiday
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town, but it has a long history and the pedestrianized old quarter is still full of character. Windsurfing and sailing on the lake are major preoccupations. Cheaper than many other lake resorts, Riva is a good base for a budget holiday. Arrival, information and accommodation
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Riva’s bus station is about 1km north of the lakefront, on Viale Trento, but all intercity buses drop off at the ferry jetty (if approaching from Limone) or Viale Carducci (if approaching from Torbole). The tourist office is on Largo Medaglie d’Oro (daily 9am–7pm; T 0464.554.444, W www.gardatrentino.it), with an information kiosk at the ferry jetty (May–Sept Mon, Tues & Thurs–Sun 10am–1pm & 2–5.30pm). Hotels
| Lake Garda
Ancora Via Montanara 2 T 0464.522.131, W www.rivadelgarda.com/ancora. Good-value, comfortable two-star rooms on an old-town lane. Service is friendly and there is a good terrace restaurant. 3 Bellariva Via Franz Kafka 13 T0464.553.620, W www.hotelbellariva.com. Modest little hotel away from the centre with free parking; grab a room on the uppermost floor for a bargain balcony overlooking the lake and the mountains. Closed Nov–Feb. 4 Restel de Fer Via Restel de Fer 10 T 0464.553.481, W www.resteldefer.com.
A real find, in the quiet backstreets away from the centre. This was once a farmhouse, out on its own in the fields; Riva has grown up around it, but the Meneghelli family are still here, 600 years on. The restaurant is outstanding and there are five guest rooms, comfortably furnished with individual touches.
Hostel Ostello Benacus Piazza Cavour 10 T 0464.554.911, W www.ostelloriva.com. Very central HI hostel, well run, with renovated two-, four- and multi-bed rooms. Closed Nov–Feb. Dorms €17, rooms 1
The Town
The lakefront square, Piazza III Novembre, is ringed by medieval facades below the rugged face of Monte Rocchetta, which towers overhead. To one side is the thirteenth-century, 34m-high Torre Apponale (March–Oct Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; June–Aug also Mon; €1), which you can climb for sensational lake views, while behind stretches the medieval Marocco quarter alongside lively Via Fiume. Along the waterfront looms the Rocca, originally built in 1124 but much altered since, now housing the Museo Civico (March–Oct Tues–Sun 10am–12.30pm & 1.30–6pm; June–Aug also Mon; €2), with exhibits of local art and history. Just 3km north (follow Via Ardaro/Marone; 45min walk) is the Parco Grotta Cascata Varone (daily: May–Aug 9am–7pm; April & Sept 9am–6pm; March & Oct 9am–5pm; Nov–Feb Sun 10am–5pm; €5), where you follow catwalks into a gorge system as waterfalls thunder down from 100m above. Eating and drinking
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Al Gallo Piazza San Rocco 12 T0464.556.200. A relaxed spot under the portico in this tiny square, west off the main piazza. There's a short menu of simple local mountain staples and the owner is happy to reel off many more. Good list of Trento wines too. Closed Mon. Kulmbacher Am See Viale Dante 39 T 0464.559.231. Cosy Bavarian restaurant just outside the old quarter, specializing in roast pork, goulash, bratwurst – and, of course, beer. Quality is high: with the number of Bavarian holiday-makers in Riva, it has to be. Closed Wed.
Leon d’Oro Via Fiume 28 T 0464.552.341. Welcoming restaurant on a busy pedestrianized street, a handy place for good-quality, moderately priced pizza and fish dishes in the heart of the old quarter. Restel de Fer Via Restel de Fer 10 T0464.553.481. Local produce is used to create delicious takes on traditional recipes in this relaxed, family-run locanda. Organic meat, game and fish are complemented by home-made bread and olive oil, plus well-chosen wines.
The eastern shore
Torbole
| Lake Garda
TORBOLE, 4km east of Riva, played an important role in the fifteenth-century war between Milan and Venice, when a fleet of warships was dragged overland here and launched into the lake. Nowadays the water still dominates, since Torbole’s main diversions are sailing and windsurfing, and the place has a fresh, youthful outlook. Windsurfing enthusiasts come here from all over Europe, attracted by ideal wind conditions (see box below). The lakefront tourist office (Easter–Oct Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–6pm; June–Aug also Sun 10am–noon & 3.30–6.30pm; Nov–Easter Mon–Fri 9am–noon & 2.30–5pm; T 0464.505.177, W www.gardatrentino.it) has details of the dozens of hotels: Lido Blu, Via Foci del Sarca 1 (T 0464.505.180, W www.lidoblu.com; 5 ), has some great beaches and cut-price deals in the low season (open year-round), while Villa Verde, Via Sarca Vecchio 15 (T 0464.505.274, W www.hotel-villaverde.it; 3 ), has standard rooms but its own pool and garden.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
Overlooked by the ridges of Monte Baldo, which tops 2100m – its treeless summit poking baldly out of lushly wooded slopes – the main resorts of Lake Garda’s eastern shore are heavily touristed and struggle to match the charm of the villages opposite. Holiday hotels and campsites line much of the lakeside road. Aim for Torbole if you’re a keen windsurfer or attracted by any of the other outdoor activities on offer. Just to the south, Malcesine’s appealing centre is swamped by holiday-makers, yet nearby Torri del Benaco, a lovely old village, remains popular but not ruined by tourism.
Malcesine
Backed by the slopes of Monte Baldo and blessed with the same windsurferfriendly winds as Torbole, MALCESINE, 14km south, has a pretty old quarter but tends to be inundated with British and German package tourists. The main sight is the thirteenth-century Castello Scaligera (daily 9.30am–6pm; Nov–March closed Mon–Fri; €5). Goethe was imprisoned here briefly in 1786, having been arrested on suspicion of being a spy: he’d been caught making sketches of the castle’s towers.
Watersports and other activities The northern shore of Lake Garda around Riva – and especially Torbole – is a hub for sporting activity. All prices below are approximate; check details with local tourist offices. Top of the list is watersports, with a clutch of local outfits offering windsurfing: first-timers can get individual tuition (€55/hr) or there are group lessons at various grades (€70/3hr). If you’re already proficient, you can rent for €45 a day. Sailing is also popular, with beginners’ courses in a dinghy or catamaran (€70/2hr) and rental (€25–40/day, depending on size of boat). Shop around: local operators include Wwww .pierwindsurf.it, www.vascorenna.com, www.sailingdulac.com, www.surfsegnana.it, www.surflb.com and www.windsurfconca.com. You can rent canoes (€35/day for two people) at several places, including the Sabbioni beach in Riva. With over a dozen good locations within easy reach of the lake, canyoning is also a good bet (April–Oct; half-day €40–60; Wwww.outdoorplanet.net and www.canyonadv.com). Several companies offer more traditional Alpine activities – ice-climbing, Via Ferrata, trekking and so on; check Wwww.alpinguide.com and www.guidealpinearco.com for details. Paragliding – notably off Monte Baldo above Malcesine – is a spectacular way to get an eagle-eye view of the lake. Volo Libero (Wwww.timetofly.net) runs tandem paragliding flights for €100.
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| Lake Garda
For those after more active pursuits there are well-marked trails up Monte Baldo, or you can take the cable car (March–Oct daily every 30min 8am–7pm; €11 one way, €17 return; W www.funiviamalcesine.com), which rises more than 1600m in ten minutes. Be prepared for queues. There are several special trips a day for cyclists to transport their bikes to the top; you can rent mountain bikes at G. Furioli in Piazza Matteotti (T 045.740.045) and make a panoramic descent down easy trails to the shore. Footpaths explore the summit ridge. Beside Malcesine’s bus station on the main road is a tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 10am–4pm; T 045.740.0044, W www.malcesinepiu.it); there’s another branch near the jetty at Via Capitanato 8 (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm & 3–7pm; May–Oct also Sun 9am–1pm; T 045.740.0837). Many hotels are block-booked by tour operators; Aurora, Piazza Matteotti 8 (T 045.740.0022, W www.europa -hotel.net; 5 ), is a more flexible three-star option right on the lake, five minutes’ walk north of town, with a pool and contemporary furnishings. Many of Malcesine’s restaurants are poor: the waterfront locations are lovely, but expect crowds, slapdash service and spag bol on the menu. Al Corsaro, Via Paina 17 (T 045.658.4064, W www.alcorsaro.it) breaks the mould, serving freshly caught lake fish at a beautiful location on a concealed beach under the castle walls, while the contemporary-styled wine bar Al Gremal on Via Scoisse above the bus station, offers a haven from the crush (closed Sun & Mon). Torri del Benaco and around
Some 20km south of Malcesine, TORRI DEL BENACO is the prettiest of the villages on this side of the lake. Its old centre – one long cobbled street, Corso Dante, crisscrossed with tunnelling alleyways – is dominated by the Castello Scaligero (daily: June–Sept 9.30am–1pm & 4.30–7.30pm; April, May & Oct 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; €3; W www.museodelcastelloditorridelbenaco.it), its swallowtail battlements standing guard over the little harbour. The castle boasts one of the oldest working limonaie, or glasshouses on the lake, plus an engaging display of local fishing and olive-oil-making traditions as well as information on ancient rock carvings in the area. Ask at the tourist office for details of a 7km walk through the woods on the hillside to see the carvings in situ. Practicalities
210
The tourist office is on the harbour ( June–Aug daily 9am–1pm & 3–7pm; T 045.722.5120, W www.tourism.verona.it). Budget hotels are led by the Garni Onda, Via per Albisano 28 (T 045.722.5895, W www.garnionda.com; closed Nov–Feb; 2 ), 100m east of the centre. Each spotlessly clean room has its own balcony or terrace and the friendly owners provide a first-rate breakfast. Newcomer Hotel del Porto (T 045.722.5051, W www.hoteldelportotorri.com; 3 ), Lungolago Barbarani, has an excellent lakeside position and stylish rooms with swish bathrooms, as well as a couple of self-catering suites; a meal at the restaurant over the water also comes highly recommended. The historic, harbourside Gardesana, Piazza Calderini 20 (T 045.722.5411, W www.hotel-gardesana .com; 5 ), was first recorded in 1452. The comfortable three-star rooms are good value, the service genial and the restaurant has a lovely setting, laid out along a balcony above the harbour (book for a table at the railing). Trattoria Bell’Arrivo, just below on Piazza Calderini, is another cosy little spot with unusually good food at very reasonable prices. For excellent cooking in unbeatable surroundings, head a couple of kilometres above town towards Albisano; amid hillside olive groves, A Trattoria agli Olivi, Via Valmagra 7 (T 045.722.5483, W www .agliolivi.com), serves delicious local dishes at bargain prices on a splendid lake-view terrace.
Punta San Vigilio
Around 4km south of Torri, PUNTA SAN VIGILIO juts into the lake, offering a well-equipped beach (April–Sept €12, under-12s €5; W www.parcobaiadellesirene .it) with sun loungers, picnic tables and children’s equipment scattered on grassy slopes planted with pines and olive trees. Occupying a sixteenth-century villa in its own grounds, Locanda San Vigilio (T 045.725.6688, W www.locanda-sanvigilio.it; 7 ) is a luxury hotel worth investigating for its charming taverna, with quiet tables laid out on a tiny private harbour serving (pricey) drinks and snacks.
Bardolino
Some 4km south is the spruce resort of BARDOLINO (W www.bagolinoweb.it), home of light, red Bardolino wine – at its most animated in September during the Festa dell’Uva (Grape Festival). A nameless bar on Via Cesare Battisti, commonly known as Da Romaldì, is a good place to sample local vintages, or try the delicious ice cream at lakefront Cristallo. A little south is the Museo dell’Olio di Oliva (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2.30–7pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; free; W www .museum.it), centred on a shop selling local oils. On the hillside above is the Museo del Vino (March–Oct daily 9am–1pm & 2–6pm; free; W www.zeni.it), part of the Zeni winery, which offers free tastings.
| Travel details
Like many of its neighbours, the ancient fishing village of GARDA, 7km south of Torri, has seen its narrow, winding alleys encroached on by snack bars and souvenir shops. Even the fifteenth-century Loggia della Losa, originally a dock for the palazzo behind, is now a gelateria. Look for the Palazzo Fregoso, a charming sixteenth-century house on Via Spagna with its original external staircase and a double lancet window over an arched passageway – then stroll the long, curving promenade, which offers wonderful views southwest over the lake. Restaurants aren’t great; instead, head up away from the lake along Via Don Gnocchi – past the tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 10am–4pm; T 045.725.5824, W www .visitgarda.com) – for 1km to Hostaria La Cross (T 045.725.5795; closed Sun), a rumbustiously cheery local restaurant, serving traditional food. Book ahead – it’s a popular spot, light years away from the tourist fare on the lake.
L OMBARDY AND THE L AKE S
Garda
Travel details Details of all public transport in Lombardy are at W www.trasporti.regione.lombardia.it, in Italian only (click “bus e mezzi pubblici”, then “orari”).
Trains Bergamo to: Brescia (hourly; 50min); Lecco (hourly; 40min); Milan (every 40min; 50min). Brescia to: Bergamo (hourly; 50min); Cremona (hourly; 50min); Desenzano (every 30min; 20min); Milan (every 30min; 1hr); Parma (6 daily; 1hr 50min); Verona (every 30min; 45min); Venice (every 30min; 2hr 10min). Cremona to: Brescia (hourly; 50min); Mantua (hourly; 55min); Milan (7 daily; 1hr 40min).
Desenzano to: Brescia (every 30min; 20min); Verona (every 30min approx; 30min); Venice (every 30min approx; 1hr 50min). Mantua to: Bologna (2 daily; 1hr 35min); Milan (9 daily; 1hr 50min); Modena (hourly; 45min); Verona (hourly; 50min). Milan Centrale to: Bergamo (hourly; 50min); Brescia (every 45min; 1hr 15min); Certosa di Pavia (every 2hr; 30min); Como SG (hourly; 1hr); Cremona (7 daily; 1hr 25min); Desenzano (every 30min; 1hr 10min); Lecco (every 2hr; 1hr); Mantua (every 2hr; 2hr 10min); Pavia (every 30min; 25min); Peschiera (hourly; 1hr 20min); Stresa (9 daily; 1hr 10min); Varenna (every 2hr; 1hr 10min); Verona (hourly; 1hr 35min).
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| Travel details 212
Milan Lambrate to: Certosa di Pavia (9 daily; 20min); Pavia (every 15min; 25min). Milan Nord/Cadorna to: Lake Como Nord (every 30min; 1hr). Milan Porta Garibaldi to: Bergamo (every 40min; 55min); Lecco (hourly; 1hr 40min); Luino (4 daily; 1hr 40min); Stresa (8 daily; 1hr 30min); Varese (hourly; 1hr). Pavia to: Certosa di Pavia (14 daily; 10min).
Buses Bergamo to: Como (6 daily; 2hr). Brescia to: Cremona (hourly; 1hr 15min); Desenzano (at least hourly; 55min); Gargnano (every 50min; 1hr 25min); Mantua (hourly; 1hr 25min); Verona (hourly; 2hr 20min). Como to: Bellagio (hourly; 1hr 10min); Bergamo (6 daily; 2hr); Menaggio (every 20min; 1hr 10min). Desenzano to: Riva (5 daily; 1hr 50min); Sirmione (at least hourly; 20min). Mantua to: Brescia (every 2hr; 1hr 35min); Milan (1 daily; 2hr 15min); Peschiera (hourly; 1hr 10min). Milan (Metro Famagosta) to: Certosa di Pavia (Mon–Sat 7 daily, 5 on Sun; 30min). Pavia to: Certosa di Pavia (Mon–Sat every 30min, Sun every 2hr; 10min); Milan Famagosta (5 daily; 35min); Milan Linate airport (6 daily; 55min).
Riva del Garda to: Desenzano (2 daily; 1hr 50min); Malcesine (approx hourly; 30min). Stresa to: Orta San Giulio (5 daily; 1hr).
Ferries Following is an outline of summer services, including main hovercraft services and cross-lake car ferries; for full information, see Wwww .navigazionelaghi.it. Cadennabia–Bellagio–Varenna (at least hourly; 30min). Como to: Bellagio (6 daily; 45min–2hr 10min); Cernobbio (every 20min; 15min); Cólico (5 daily; 1hr 50min–4hr); Menaggio (6 daily; 50min–2hr 25min); Varenna (6 daily; 1hr–2hr 40min). Desenzano to: Gargnano (5 daily; 1hr 30min); Malcesine (5 daily; 3hr 15min); Riva del Garda (7 daily; 2hr 30min); Salò (9 daily; 1hr 30min); Sirmione (every 45min; 20min). Intra to: Laveno (every 20min; 20min). Stresa to: Isola Bella (every 30min; 10min); Pallanza (every 30min; 35min); Santa Caterina (hourly; 15min); Villa Táranto (every 30min; 45min). Toscolano-Maderno to: Torri del Benaco (every 30 min; 30min).
4 TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Trentino-Alto Adige
|
AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND 4 3
HUNGARY
SLOVENIA CROATIA
7
BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA
FRANCE
8
10 MONTENEGRO
9 Corsica (Fr.)
SERBIA
5
1 2
6
11
ADRIATIC SEA
12 14 13
15
17 TYRRHENIAN SEA
IONIAN SEA 16 ALGERIA
0
100 km
TUNISIA
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CHAPTER 4
Highlights
✱ TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Mountain refuges Bed, board and beer in some of Europe’s most remote and scenic locations. See p.220
✱
| Highlights
MART The museum of contemporary art in Rovereto is the largest of its kind in Italy, and is strong on Futurist, avant-garde and Pop art. See p.226
✱
Hiking in the Pale di San Martino One of the most spectacular areas in the Dolomites with a great selection of high-altitude trails. See p.231
✱
Skiing in Canazei A vast choice of slopes for intermediates – you could spend a week there and barely ski the same piste twice. See p.234
✱
Ice Man The chief exhibit in Bolzano’s Museo Archeologico is the superbly preserved “Ice Man”, found in the Ötzaler Alps in 1991. See p.238
✱
Wine tasting along the Strada del Vino Follow the “Wine Road” through the Adige valley and sample some of the region’s best food and wine. See p.242
214
Skiing in Canazei
4 “…and to dream in a vague way of those mystic mountains beyond Verona which we knew of, somewhat indefinitely, as the Dolomites.” Amelia B. Edwards (1831–92; adventurer)
I
|
taly’s northernmost region, where Italy, Austria and Switzerland meet, is a major summer- and winter-holiday destination. In the past, however, it’s been something of a battle zone. A string of castles along the Adige (Etsch) valley bear witness to the cut and thrust of medieval politics, and the area was on the front line again in World War I, when Italian and Austrian troops fought a ferocious battle along the alpine ridges. These days, the invasions tend to be peaceful, as millions of holiday-makers head here to ski on sunny south-facing slopes, or take a summer break in one of the region’s high-altitude resorts. As its name suggests, the region consists of two areas linked together. Trentino, the southern part, is 98 percent Italian-speaking and the cuisine and architecture belong predominantly to the south rather than the Alps. By contrast, the mountainous terrain around Bolzano – known both as the Südtirol (South Tyrol) and Alto Adige – was only incorporated into Italy at the end of the First World War (see box, p.236). Here, onion-domed churches dot vineyards and forests, street signs are in German and Italian and the landscape is redolent of illustrations from the Brothers Grimm. Both Trentino and Alto Adige now enjoy autonomy from central government, along with one of the highest standards of living in Italy. In 2001, each of the two provinces gained greater political clout separately rather than jointly, although they remain linked, if only by their official name. The main focus of a trip here is the landscape, dominated by the stark and jagged Dolomites. Among the most beautiful mountains in Europe, these vast massifs are steeped in legend and have been eroded over the last 200 million years into a weird and wonderful array of towers and pinnacles. In 2009 the mountain range was added to the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List, for their unique geology – they began life around 250 million years ago as a giant coral reef beneath the ancient Tethys Ocean – and for a diverse ecosystem rich in rare flora and fauna. For those who want to explore, cable cars travel from the small resorts dotted around the region enabling you to go walking at 2000–3000m without needing anything beyond average fitness or expertise, and a network of trails crosses the ranges, varying in length from a day’s walk to a two-week trek. If walking boots and rucksacks make you shudder, views of this spectacular landscape can also be enjoyed from the luxury of some of the best spa hotels in Italy, offering wonderful regional cuisine along with a unique array of treatments from bathing in thermal water to elaborate “dry baths” involving lying swaddled in sheep’s wool or mountain hay. Trentino-Alto Adige has a burgeoning cultural life too, with two cutting-edge contemporary galleries – MART, in Rovereto,
TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Trentino-Alto Adige
215
Landeck
Innsbruck (A22)
TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE Passo di Brénnero (1374m)
AUSTRIA 2 A2
Vipiteno Passiria
rco
ld ’Is
St Moritz
Isa Va
ar
08
Barbiano
s t a V e n o
Val M
artello
San Genesio Gioveretto (3438m) V
Ul
o
m
ti
Bolzano
Firmiano
Va
i l d
o
DI VINO A2 2
Cles
Tuenno
na
n
Salurno
Va
l
Grosté Brenta (3150m)
Molveno Lago di Molveno
Andalo
Paganella (2125m)
Pinzolo Va l Re n de
PARCO NATURALE MONTE CORNO Cavalese
No di
Spormaggiore
Presanella PARCO NATURALE (3558m) ADAMELLOCarisolo BRENTA Val di Genova
Sténico
Baselga di Piné
Sardagna
Trento
Pérgine Valsugana Va
Bondone
Lago di Caldonazzo Folgaria Riva del Garda
Rovereto Cima Palon (2235m)
LO M BARDY 22
A
Lago di Garda
Ad
ige
216
Brescia
a
Caldaro
Termeno Madonna di Campiglio
Eg
PARCO NATURALE DELLO SCILIAR
STRADO
n
Val di No
l
e
Sondrio
Malè S
l
Trento-Malè Train Line
Colle
d’
Appiano
Cevedale (3769m)
Adamello (3554m)
Va
DELLO STELVIO
d’ al
Renon Roncolo
38
Solda
PARCO Ortles (3905m) NAZIONALE
Adda
SS5
Lana
Monte S Vigilio
SS
Trafoi
Talvera
Merano
Juval
Silandro
e
Adige
l
Coira
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Tirolo
Adig
SWITZERLAND
PARCO NATURALE GRUPPO DI TESSA
es
S Caterina
V a l Passo di Stelvio (2758m)
S e nál
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Glorenza
San Leonardo
Pfelders L’Altissima (3497m)
di
co
Palla Bianca (3738m) Va
TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Passo di Résia (1507m)
Verona (A22)
PASUBIO
nta
Bre
ga l Su
na
ina
Aur
Gran Pilastro (3510m)
AUSTRIA
Campo Túres
t e P u s r
a l
Brunico
i
San Cándido
Longega Fortezza
San Vigilio di Marebbe
Novacella
Bressanone Val di Fu
nes
PARCO NATURALE PUEZ-ODLE
Chiusa G
Ortisei
ar Siusi d e n a
PARCO NATURALE FÁNESSÉNNES-BRÁIES Croda Rossa (3139m) PARCO NATURALE Pederù DOLOMITI DI SESTO
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Cristallo (3221m) Tofane (3243m)
S. Cristina Passo di Gardena (2121m)
Passo di
a
Rienz
Dobbiaco
Lago di Braies
Lago (2999m) di Misurina Passo Tre Croci (1814m)
Corvara
ALPE Sella (2234m) Sella (3151m) Passo di Fié Am DI SIUSI Sasso Lungo (3179m) Valparola Sciliar Sciliar (2564m) Passo Arabba Pordoi Rosengarten/ (2239m) Lago Catinaccio Canazei di Fedaia Vigo (2981m) Marmolada d di Fassa Val (3343m)
Passo di Falzarago
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Val
Lienz & Salzburg
a
San Lorenzo
TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
V
nza
Rie
VENETO
Cortina d’Ampezzo
Calalzo
Passo di San Pellegrino (1918m)
Civetta (3218m)
e
Predazzo m m
Panevéggio
FRIULIVENEZIA GIULIA
Pale di San Martino (3192m)
Passo di Rolle (1970m)
di
i
PARCO NATURALE PANEVÉGGIO
Val Canal
Val
Fie
Tésero
Udine
Moena
Alleghe
ve
Passo di Costalunga (1745m)
Pelmo (3168m)
Pia
iF
as s
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Antelao (3263m)
San Martino di Castrozza Passo di Cereda (1369m)
Fiera di Primiero Cima d’Asta (2847m)
Mezzano
Belluno
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Pia Feltre
Vittório Veneto
Trieste
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Venice
10 km
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a short train ride away from Trento, and Bolzano’s Museion gallery – helping to counterbalance the area’s hearty focus on the great outdoors. Regional capital Trento has an atmospheric old centre and mountain views, while Bolzano, Alto Adige’s chief town, has an enviable quality of life and makes a good base for exploring the region. It is worth visiting for the “Ice Man” alone (see p.238), the prize exhibit at the archeological museum. Between the two towns are hillsides planted with vineyards that can be visited as part of the Strada del Vino winetasting route. Both Trento and Bolzano are transport hubs, reachable by train via Verona and Innsbruck, and by private bus from Bergamo and other airports. In summer there are various outdoor concerts – the best of these is the Suoni delle Dolomiti series of jazz, folk and world music concerts by artists from all over the world: the concept is an original one – you hike (sometimes with the artists) to the chosen location – a wood, perhaps, or a rocky gully – and then listen to the concert. Performances are in the evenings and sometimes at dawn. Visit W www.isuonidelle dolomiti.it for details (in English) of concerts, local accommodation, and walking times to venues. More traditionally, at Christmas, vast markets take over the historic centres of Trento and Bolzano, attracting visitors from miles around. The scenic Great Dolomites Road links Bolzano with Cortina d’Ampezzo. Even though technically it is just across the regional border in the Veneto (and
Regional food and wine: schnitzel and spaghetti
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Alto Adige cuisine has unreservedly Germanic traditions, while Trentino cooking mixes mountain influences with more recognizably Italian flavours. The hearty traditional food is great for refuelling after a day of hiking or skiing and the quality of produce is often excellent, even in the simplest mountain hut. For finer dining, adventurous chefs are reworking old recipes to make a much lighter cuisine, and it is well worth trying out some of the pricier restaurants we list for a new take on local specialities. A traditional meal starts with some kind of salami (lucanicche in local dialect), often paper-thin slices of salt beef, or Tyrolean canederli – bread dumplings spiked with speck (smoked ham) often served in broth (brodo). You’ll also see strangolapreti (bread and spinach gnocchi) and schlutzkrapfen (spinach-filled pasta) on the menu. Fresh lake and river fish, game and rabbit are popular as secondi, as are venison goulash or boiled cured pork with sauerkraut. Desserts are often based on apples, pears or plums, readily available from the local orchards. Other sweet treats include apfel strudel, sachertorte and kaiserschmarren, a scrambled pancake with raisins. A highlight of the year for food- and wine-lovers is the autumn Törggelen season (see box, p.242), when everyone heads for the hills to sample the new vintage and snack on mountain ham and roast chestnuts, followed by a walk to work it all off. Vines have been cultivated here since before Roman times, and Trentino-Alto Adige produces more DOC wines than any other region in Italy. Most famous are the Pinot Grigios and Chardonnays, which are bright and aromatic from being grown at high altitudes and in cool conditions. These also provide wine makers with the raw material for some outstanding traditional-method sparkling wines, often marketed under the spumante Trentino Classico label. Despite the excellence of the whites, local wine makers actually make more reds often with local varieties like Teróldego and Schiava (known as Vernatsch in German-speaking areas). Red wines made from Schiava are good when young: look out for the pale-red Kalterersee (Caldaro) and the fuller, more fruity St Magdalene (Santa Maddalena); those made from the Lagrein grape variety are more robust, such as the strong, dark Lagrein Dunkel, or the Kretzer rosé from Bolzano’s vineyards at Gries. Also worth seeking out is the rare vino santo (not to be confused with vin santo from Tuscany) from Trentino’s Valle dei Laghi – a luscious dessert wine made from local Nosiola grapes.
therefore served by transport links from Belluno), Cortina is very much part of the Dolomites and is Italy’s glitziest ski resort. Merano, in the northwest, is another hub, serving the Val Venosta (Vischgau) and its side valleys which take you deep into the mountains of the Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio straddling the border with Lombardy. More remote and less touristy than the Dolomites, this range has a different flavour of high alps topped by vast glaciers; by day you can be ascending snow-capped pasture, in the evening eating pizza in town.
Hiking This region is an exhilarating area to walk, often subject to snow, ice and scorching sun in the same day. A network of refuges allow you to stay at high altitude without having to dip down to the valley for meals or accommodation. Most rifugi (W www.trentinorifugi.com, see p.220) and cable cars are open from June 20 to September 20 which is the official hiking season, though there will be local variations and you’ll find some also have a winter season. There are plenty of opportunities for day-walks: routes are well established and well signposted, and there are suggestions in this chapter for walks in some stunning scenery that are within average capabilities. For more ambitious walking over a number of days, you might consider doing one of the longer trails, known as alte vie (literally “high ways”). Four of these run north–south between the Val Pusteria (Pustertal) and the Veneto; four from the Val d’Isarco (Eisacktal) south; and two from Bolzano, with plenty of mountain huts along the way for meals and overnight accommodation. Some of the initial ascents are strenuous, but once you are up on the ridges the paths level out and give superb views across the valleys and glaciers. Parts of the trails are exposed, or have snowfields across them, but other ways round these obstacles are always available. Online, W www.dolomiti.it is a good source of information on all ten longdistance trails. Martin Collins’s Alta Via: High Level Walks in the Dolomites (Cicerone) covers Alte Vie 1 and 2; and if you read Italian or German, Alpina Verlag’s Dolomite Alte Vie/Dolomiten Hohenwegel 1–10 is an extremely thorough companion to each of the trails – available free from larger tourist offices. There aren’t many guides to the non-alta via trails in English, but the beauty of this area is that there are so many footpaths that if you invest in the Kompass 1:50,000 or Tabacco 1:25,000 maps that are on sale everywhere in the Dolomites you can plan your own routes. Paths are numbered and are easy to follow – you
| Public transport and driving • Hiking
It’s worth noting that provincial bus companies stick to towns within their province, so that some places which look as though they should be easy to get to from Bolzano, say, often are not. So if using public transport, it’s wise to base your itinerary around exploring one province at a time. Cyclists can stow bikes on certain trains on the private Trento-Male line (see p.256) and in the boot of out-of-town buses (there is room for two bikes, and it operates on a first-come, first-served basis), which can take some of the hard work out of long ascents. If you’re driving outside the summer months, be aware that many passes can remain closed until well after Easter. Approach roads all have signs indicating whether the pass is open, or you can call T 0471.200.198 for information on road conditions. The Südtirol’s official website W www.south-tirol.com also has winter road reports, as well as some useful links and reams of information about the province, with pages devoted to individual towns and resorts, trekking, wellness, family holidays and B&Bs.
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Public transport and driving
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just look out for the red-and-white blaze on rocks and trees by the side of the path along the way. When figuring out how long hikes will take, bear in mind that an averagely fit person takes around three hours to ascend 1000m. Vie ferrate
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| Vie ferrate • Rifugi
Vie ferrate (literally “iron ways”) are a Italian phenomenon, consisting of fixed metal ladders, pegs and cables that climbers clip onto with karabiners, making otherwise difficult routes more accessible. Many vie ferrate began life as far back as the late nineteenth century as mountaineering took off as a sport in Europe; Alpini troops put others in place during World War I to assist the climbs that were a matter of survival for the soldiers fighting in the mountains. In the decades since then, volunteers from local Club Alpino Italiano groups have created many more. Kompass and Tabacco maps show vie ferrate as a line of little black dots or crosses, so you can easily avoid them – as they are definitely not for beginners or vertigosufferers. To use them, you need to be confident belaying and have the proper equipment (including helmet, ropes, two self-locking karabiners and a chest- or seat-harness). Incidentally, it’s not advisable to climb a via ferrata in a thunderstorm either; it might just become one long lightning conductor. Of course, once you’ve done a few straightforward paths up in the mountains you may be inspired to tackle some ferrate, and there are plenty of people around who will teach you. Individual guides charge by the hour, and so become more affordable if you can get a small group together. Many of the rifugi are run by mountain guides, or you could enrol on a mountain skills course: both Trentino and Alto Adige provincial tourist offices keep lists of guides and mountaineering schools, but you’ll need to book well in advance. For more in-depth information, contact the Collegio Guide Alpine del Trentino, Vicolo Galasso 19, Trento (T 0461.981.207, W www.guidealpinetrentino.it), an organization for Alpine guides in the province of Trentino, with associated mountaineering schools at Male and Madonna di Campiglio. If you want a private guide, book at least a week ahead in high season. For Alto Adige, contact Collegio Guide Alpine del Alto Adige, Via Grappoli 9, Bolzano (T 0471.976.357). Rifugi
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If you’re seriously into hiking or mountaineering, the most convenient places to stay once you’re high up are the rifugi (refuges). Solidly constructed, usually two- or three-storey buildings, they provide dormitory accommodation (and often double or quad rooms if you book well ahead), meals and a bar. These days, most have hot showers. Blankets are provided, but you must bring your own sheet sleeping bag – if you don’t have one, you can usually buy one at the hut for around €10. Run by enthusiastic and dedicated staff, rifugi are open from 20 June until around 20 September, and many also operate in the skiing season; we’ve given opening periods as a guide, but these are still subject to weather conditions. If you’re planning a long trek that relies on rifugi for accommodation, you should definitely call ahead; at the same time, you can check that the place isn’t likely to be packed out by a large party – nobody is ever turned away, but overflow accommodation is either on a mattress in the bar or, in extremis, the hen house. If you are a member of the Club Alpino Italiano (W www.cai.it) the overnight rate at CAI-run rifugi is around €10; if not, expect to pay around €20, but unless you want to carry food with you, count on paying €40–50 for a bunk, breakfast and dinner – good value for the hearty home-cooking and local wine that are rustled up in some pretty remote locations. Emergency calls can be made from most rifugi; to call Soccorso Alpino (Alpine Rescue), dial T 118. A directory of refuges is available at W www .trentinorifugi.com, www.suedtirol-ferien.it and www.huts-bivouacs.com.
Skiing
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| Trento
Trentino-Alto Adige is home to many of Italy’s top ski resorts. Popular with families, and with a fairly laid back atmosphere, skiing is often not top priority – it’s more a case of long lunches on a sunny terrace after a morning of piste-bashing. Italian tourist offices overseas, and the regional offices in Italy, have details of Settimane Bianche (White Weeks). These are bargain package deals offering full or half-board and a ski-pass, although be wary of deals very late in the season – the downside of all those south-facing slopes is that the snow deteriorates fast in the warmer spring weather. January and February are the best months to come; March can also be good although by mid-April the winter season is over. As for where to ski: Madonna di Campiglio is popular with wealthy Italian families as it has a good sun and snow record (it’s a relatively high resort for Italy) and a lively nightlife. Canazei has a huge ski area ideal for intermediates. The resorts of the Val Gardena (Ortisei, S Cristina and Selva) also offer plenty of variety in terms of places to eat, stay and ski. Beginners and intermediates can cruise the slopes in beautiful surroundings at the fashionable resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, although the ski area is fragmented and much of it only accessible by bus from the resort. The big attraction of skiing in the eastern Dolomites is that twelve different ski areas are linked, creating long circuits including the famous “Sella Ronda” which takes you around Marmolada (3342m). You can access all areas with the Dolomiti Superski pass (€200–250 for 7 days, depending on the season in 2010) giving use of 1220km of runs and 450 cable cars and chair lifts (see W www.dolomitisuperski .com for details.) Corvara is the main resort on the Sella Ronda, and is popular with foodies and families; the slopes will appeal mainly to intermediates, but there are steeper runs at Arabba to challenge advanced skiers. To help decide which resort to choose, check out details of chair lifts, altitude and length of runs on the regional tourist office websites W www.south-tirol.com and www.trentino.to. Note that there’s also summer skiing from June to November on glaciers accessible from the Val Senales, the Stelvio Pass, and the new, inexpensive resort at the Passo Tonale (which links Trentino with Lombardy), although in these days of climate change this is dependent on the state of the glaciers and there being a good dump of snow the winter before. From December, get the latest on snow conditions in Trentino at W www .meteotrentino.it. Otherwise check the national winter weather website W www .meteomont.net.
Trento Just three hours from Venice by train, and less than an hour from Verona, TRENTO makes a good base for exploring the southern part of this region, not least because of its bus services into the Dolomites. Overshadowed by Monte Bedone just 13km away, the town is beautifully situated, encircled by mountains and exuding a relaxed pace of life. The central, café-lined piazza is all fading frescoes and cobblestones, with chic fashion shops in the narrow streets off it. MART, Italy’s largest modern art museum and Lake Garda (see p.203) lie 25km south. From the tenth to the eighteenth centuries, Trento was a powerful bishopric ruled by a dynasty of princes; it was the venue of the Council of Trent between 1545 and 1563, when the Catholic Church, threatened by the Reformation in northern Europe, met to plan its counterattack. Later, throughout the nineteenth century, ownership of the city, which remained in Austrian hands, was hotly contested, and it only became properly part of Italy in 1919, after World War I.
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Arrival and information
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Trento’s main bus and train stations are almost next door to each other at Piazza Dante and Via Pozzo. A secondary, combined station – Trento-Malé, run by a private company (T 0461.238.350) – is on Via Dogana 2, just beyond the train station (you don’t need to leave the main station – just follow platform 1, 100m heading north). From here you can get electric trains up to Cles in the Val di Non, Malé in the Val di Sole, and buses to the ski resorts of Madonna di Campiglio and Marilleva 900, and Lake Molveno. Visit W www.ttesercizio.it for timetables for all transport in Trentino or call the information line (T 0461.821.000). The tourist office, close to the main train station at Via Manci 2 (daily 9am–7pm; T 0461.216.000, W www.apt.trento.it), stocks Trentino Mese, the city’s monthly listings guide and sells the extremely useful Trento Card (€10 for 24hr, €15 for 48hr) offering free city transport and free entrance to many museums plus discounts in restaurants and shops. The regional information website (W www .visittrentino.it) has details on mountain refuges, transport, hiking, skiing and agriturismo accommodation.
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There is a good range of accommodation for all budgets in and around Trento; the busiest times are over Christmas and New Year. Bolzano IN
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EATING & DRINKING Ai Vicoli Antica Birreria Pedavena Araliki Chiesa Grom Locanda La Canonica Lo Scrigno del Duomo Milky Walky Orso Grigio
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showers) and a generously proportioned single with a double bed. 4–5 Locanda La Canonica Piazza Monsignore Nicolini 4–5, Villazzano T 0461.392.218, W www.locandacanonicatrento.it. In the verdant village of Villazzano, a ten-minute bus ride from the centre of Trento (bus #6 or #13 every six minutes), this sixteenth-century building was built to lodge bishops who came to the Council of Trent. The original colours of the walls have been replicated, and its twelve airy rooms have limed wood floors and white fittings – several have cooking facilities – though the restaurant below is excellent (see p.225). An ideal choice for families, as Villazzano is blessed with parks and playgrounds. 1 Ostello Giovane Europa Via Torre Vanga 9, 500m to your right beyond the station T0461.263.484, W www.gayaproject.org. Busy hostel popular with students in term time (facilities include a study as well as a laundry and TV room). Four- to six-bed rooms, plus singles, doubles and triples attract an eclectic mix of solo travellers, young workers, families and budget-minded older couples. Dorm beds from €14–16, doubles €21 per person and singles €25. Meals €10. 1 Venezia Piazza Duomo 45 T0461.234.559 or 234.114, Wwww.hotelveneziatn.it. The cheapest hotel in the centre, some of whose rooms have a fabulous view of the Duomo and piazza. Comfortable though old-fashioned and lacklustre, but the location couldn’t be better. 2
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Albergo Accademia Vicolo Colico 4–6 T0461.233.600, Wwww.accademiahotel.it. Smart family-run hotel in a quiet location, a short walk from the train station, with a shady courtyard garden. There are forty rooms, gradually undergoing refurbishment. New-style rooms are in restful grey, stone and white, the junior suites coming with hydromassage showers or baths; old-style rooms are all white. Wi-fi downstairs only (€2 per hour). Next door is a pleasant enoteca, Araliki; see p.224. 5 Hotel America Via Torre Verde 50 T 0461.983.010, W www.hotelamerica.it. So called because the owner’s grandfather founded the hotel on his return from working in America in 1923: personal, attentive service and enthusiastic staff make the America the best of central Trento’s hotels. Rooms are comfortable, and around half come with baths. There are also mini serviced apartments with cooking facilities, and a couple of rooms with flower-filled terraces and views over rooftops to the mountains (ask for one when you book). Free wi-fi in rooms. Apartments €385 per week. 3 Aquila d’Oro Via Belenzani 76 T0461.986.282, Wwww.aquiladoro.it. Contemporary rooms each featuring a wall-to-ceiling photo, occupying the six storeys of an old pink townhouse a stone’s throw from the Duomo. Every floor has a Junior Suite (each with a huge bathroom and romantic sauna lit with a constellation of tiny star-like lights), a standard room (small bathroom with bisazza-mosaic-walled
The City Trento was known as Tridentum to the Romans, a name celebrated by the eighteenth-century Neptune fountain in the central Piazza del Duomo, which gives onto streets – notably Via Belanzani – lined with frescoed palaces, many of them built in the sixteenth century when Trento was an important market town. The three most significant meetings of the Council of Trent – convened to confront the growth of Protestantism and to establish the so-called CounterReformation – took place in the Duomo between 1545 and 1563. The building itself was begun in the thirteenth century, but wasn’t completed until the sixteenth. Inside, an enormous carved marble baldachino over the altar is a replica of the one in St Peter’s, Rome. The most interesting part of the building lies under the church, where a medieval crypt (Mon–Sat 10am–noon, 2.30–5.30pm; €1.50) and foundations of an early Christian basilica built over the tomb of St Vigilio, the third bishop of Trento, were discovered in 1977. The neighbouring Museo Diocesano Tridentino e Basilica Paleocristiana (Wed–Sun: June–Sept 9.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; Oct–May 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; €4; W www.museodio cesanotridentino.it), housed in the Palazzo Pretorio, includes large annotated paintings of the sessions of the Council of Trent and some carved altarpieces from the church of San Zeno in the Val di Non. The building is appealing in itself, too, with its fishtail battlements, heavy studded doors and a view from the upper floor of the frescoed palaces around the square.
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Also of particular interest is the Spazio Archeologico Sotterraneo del Sas (S.A.S.S.) underground archeological area on Piazza Cesare Battisti (Tues–Sun: June to Sept 9.30am–1pm & 2–6pm; Oct–May 9am–1pm & 2–5.30pm; €2). In the 1990s, when Trento’s theatre was being restored, archeologists discovered around 1700 square metres of a Roman road – complete with sewage system – along with buildings and remains of the city walls dating from between 1000 BC and 400 AD. You can see it all from the visitor centre, built on a level with the existing road. The most powerful of the Trento princes was Bernardo Clesio, who in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries built up much of the city’s art collection, a good proportion of which is held in the Castello del Buonconsiglio (Tues–Sun: Nov–May 9.30am–5pm; June–Oct 10am–6pm; €7; W www.buonconsiglio.it), another venue of the Council of Trent, a short walk from Piazza Duomo. It’s really two castles: the thirteenth-century Castelvecchio and the extension built in 1530 called the Magno Palazzo, in which several rooms frescoed with classical subjects by the Dossi family and Romanino lead off an inner courtyard. Upstairs is the Museo Provinciale d’Arte, whose highlight is the Ciclo dei Mesi (Cycle of the Months), in the Torre d’Aquila (a tour costs an extra €1 and must be booked in advance, Tues–Fri, on T 0461.492.840). These frescoes dating from 1391 to 1407 show scenes of farming and courtly life. To recuperate afterwards, wind down in the San Marco public gardens (with lots of shade and children’s play areas). Finally, before going down to Rovereto to see the magnificent MART (see p.226), check out the exhibitions at its Trento seat, Palazzo delle Albere, at Via Roberto da Sanseverino 45 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €6): to get there follow Via Verdi from Piazza del Duomo across the railway to the river, and turn left.
Eating, drinking and nightlife You can eat well in Trento and the surrounding area, feasting on unfussy local specialities. Foodies might consider a winter visit as, from late November until Christmas, hundreds of food and craft stalls fill the streets to celebrate the feast of St Lucy. For the rest of the year De Matte on Piazza del Duomo sells a fantastic (if expensive) range of fruit and vegetables, along with local jams, honeys and (for taking home) fabulous dried mushrooms; while Antichi Sapori Trentino, at Via Belenzani 56, and Mattei La Salumeria at Via Mazzini 46, both sell local hams and salamis, along with cheese, and deli produce such as olives and vegetables sott’olio (preserved in oil). Trento is also blessed with a branch of A Grom, Piazza del Duomo 27 (open daily; see also Turin, p.77), a northern Italian ice-cream chain committed to using seasonal and often organic produce, with flavours changing from month to month. The queues are long, partly because the ice cream is “turned” before every serving, partly because no one in Trento goes anywhere else. For organic fast food, such as salads, soups and milkshakes, head for Milky Walky, Via Garibaldi 27, just behind the Duomo. Trento doesn’t resound with nightlife, but has a few good bars that stay open late, notably the Antica Birreria Pedavena (see below) for beer, and the bar at the Chiesa (see opposite) or the Enoteca Araliki, Vicolo Colico 6, off Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore, for wine. Restaurants and bars
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Ai Vicoli Piazza Santi Verzeri 1 T0461 260.273. A lovely setting on a tiny piazza close to the Duomo, serving dishes that skilfully combine tradition and innovation. Try the sformatino (like a smooth mousse) of corn and fontina cheese with local black truffles (€12), or a salad of wheat berries with anchovies, capers, tomato and mozzarella (€8).
Primi include delectable gnocchi served with black truffles and butter (€12), while among the secondi is a typical mountain dish of carne salada (cured beef) sliced thin and tossed in a pan, with beans and onions. Antica Birreria Pedavena Piazza Fiera 13 T0461.986.255, Wwww.birreriapedavena.com. Huge, bustling, and utterly traditional birreria,
| Trento
salami) served with a bowl of roast peppers and preserved onions (€10). Primi include penne with a ragù of rabbit (€7) or wild boar (€8), or a delicious vegetable orzotto (like a risotto, but made with barley, €7), while the best of the secondi is the tortel di patate – crisp, golden potato cakes served with hams and salamis. For pudding, there’s a great apple strudel (€2.50). Lo Scrigno del Duomo Piazza del Duomo 29 T0461.220.030. Elegant wine bar (and Michelinstarred restaurant) right opposite the Duomo, serving up some highly creative, delicious and pretty expensive dishes in a gorgeous palazzo with frescoed beams. The restaurant has two menus which change every three weeks – meat, Terra (€65) and fish, Mare (€75). You can either go for the full menus, select a couple of courses, or mix and match between the two. In the wine bar food is more simple and prices are more reasonable, but the quality still excellent: home-made spinach gnocchi with melted butter, sage and wild mushrooms (€10), grilled steak with potato cake and peperonata (€23), with three-course menus priced at €35 including wine. Orso Grigio Via degli Orti 19 T0461.984.400. Relaxed, welcoming place where you can eat inside or out under a canopy. Feast on fabulous vegetables sott’olio (€3) or a carpaccio di carne salada (cured beef, €8) followed by local specialities such as rufioi (€9), a kind of handmade ravioli stuffed with Savoy cabbage and served with melted butter and parmesan, or, in season, a soup of porcini mushrooms (€10). Secondi include polenta with local finferli mushrooms and cheese (€15) or, for the unsentimental, a grilled filleto di puledro (€15) – young horse. Closed Sun.
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featuring three kinds of artisan beer (dark, light and weiss) brewed on the premises. The food is hearty and authentic, featuring smoked and cured meats and cheeses – the piatto pedavena with goulash, pork, wurstel, canederli, sauerkraut and polenta (€11.50) is a good way to sample the most famous Trento dishes, though if your appetite is more modest you might prefer a simple pasta dish (€6) or pizza (from €6). Chiesa Via San Marco T0461.238.766. Post-modern styling (violet, lime and magenta suede upholstery, halogen lights, a blue neon bar, and state-of-the-art flower arrangements) in a seventeenth-century palazzo marvellously set in the San Marco gardens a stone’s throw from the Palazzo Buonconsiglio. The menu is seasonal, Modern European, and features innovations such as apple risotto (€10) and black rice (riso di venere) with monkfish and vegetables (€13), along with more conventional dishes such as mixed grilled fish (€15) or roast pork with tomatoes, green peppers and potatoes (€17); you can also sample local vintages and snack on salami, cheese and antipasti in the less formal wine-bar. Outdoor eating in summer – ideal if you have kids as they can run free and play in between courses. Closed Sun eve and Mon. Expensive. Locanda La Canonica Piazza Monsignore Nicolini 4–5, Villazzano T0461.392.218, Wwww.locandacanonicatrento.it. A breath of fresh air, this unpretentious and relaxed locanda, occupying a labyrinth of white-vaulted rooms and cellars serves a selection of simple, excellently executed local dishes. For antipasto there is a tagliere, a wooden platter of great-quality hams, cheese and salami (including a dark, smoky donkey
Listings Car rental Avis, 53 Via Brennero T 0461.420.276; Sixt, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 3 T0461.263.467; Hertz, Lung’Adige Apuleio 20 T 0461.421.555. Doctor Guardia Medica, Via Malta 4 (T 0461.915.809), offers out-of-hours (Mon–Fri 8pm–8am, and all weekend) medical service. Hospitals In an emergency, call T118. Casualty T 0461.903.206 at the Ospedale Santa Chiara, Largo Medaglie d’Oro 9. Internet Wireless internet café: Olimpia, Via Belenzani 33 (€5/hr).
Markets Mon–Sat mornings, food in Piazza Vittoria; Thurs mornings, weekly market in the historic centre; second Sat of month (except Jan & Aug), flea market in Piazza Garzetti. Pharmacies Dall’Armi, Piazza del Duomo 10; Madonna, Via Manci 42; S. Chiara, Via S. Croce 57. Police Via Fratelli Bronzetti T0461.916.111. Post office Piazza A. Vittoria 20 T0461.984.714. Mon–Fri 8.30am–6.30pm, Sat 8am–12.30pm. Public toilets Via Belenzani; free. Taxis Radiotaxi, Via Degasperi 27 T 0461.930.002.
Around Trento Trento’s cycle path network is excellent, and with free bike rental if you purchase a Trento Card, it’s well worth exploring as an alternative to crowded buses and cable cars. The city is linked via the grander Valle dell Adige Cycle Path to Bolzano to the north and Verona to the south, with many charming towns and villages along either route.
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| The Dolomiti di Brenta
A cable car runs from the San Lorenzo bridge, near Trento’s bus station (every 15–30min until 10pm; €0.90), to the lower slopes of the towering Monte Bondone, from where you get a wonderful view. A five- or ten-minute walk brings you to the village of SARDAGNA, giving you a preview of alpine meadows and glimpses of the Dolomites in the distance. An enjoyable half-day trip from the city (and reachable by local bus or train, or along the Adige Cycle Path) is a visit to the ethnographic museum (Museo degli Usi e Costumi della Gente Trentina; Tues–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm; €5; W www.museosanmichele.it) at SAN MICHELE ALL’ADIGE, 15km northeast of Trento. One of the largest of its kind in Europe, with exhibits ranging from re-creations of village houses (complete with muddy boots drying by the stove) to displays on hunting, grazing and wine making, the museum gives a real flavour of what life in Trentino was like until the twentieth century. Some of the bloodiest engagements of World War I took place around Monte Pasubio, to the southeast of Trento. A total of 460,000 lives were lost – many from the cold – and 947,000 were wounded on the Italian side alone. The recently created Sentiero della Pace (Path of Peace) follows the front, from the Ortles mountains east across the ranges to Marmolada, the trail littered with old bullets and barbed wire. The Campana dei Caduti, made out of melted-down cannon, tolls every evening in memory of the dead of both sides, from the Colle di Miravalle, a hill just outside the nearby town of Rovereto. Rovereto: MART
A trip to Italy’s largest modern-art museum, MART, in the centre of Rovereto, a fifteen-minute train journey south of Trento, is one of the highlights of Trentino. The striking building at Corso Bettini 43 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm, Fri late night opening until 9pm; €10; W www.mart.trento.it) was designed by Mario Botta and opened in December 2002. A changing selection from the permanent collection of more than nine thousand paintings, designs and sculptures is on show in the spacious, light-filled galleries. Particularly strong are the collections of Futurist and twentieth-century avant-garde art: Italian Futurist Fortunato Depero bequeathed his collection of three thousand works including drawings, tapestries and sculpture. Metaphysical painters including Giorgio de Chirico and Giorgio Morandi, and Arte Povera artists are well represented, and the museum has made especially important purchases of American Pop Art, including works by Lichtenstein, Rauschenberg and Warhol. An equal pleasure is discovering the work of Italian artists whom you might not have come across elsewhere – the spindly, metal sculptures of Fausto Melotti, for example, or the striking Sale Nero by Pier Paolo Calzolari, a frozen line made through burnt salt, chilled by a fridge motor. The gallery also runs an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions. The Casa Museo Depero nearby, at Via della Terra 53 (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; €6), was laid out by Depero himself a year before his death in 1960. The space shows off his large cloth collages – the most precious items in the MART collection – to great effect.
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Northwest of Trento lies a mountain range with a separate identity from the more famous Dolomitic peaks to the east. With their sawtoothed peaks and glaciers, the Dolomiti di Brenta have a rougher character than, say, the Catinaccio/ Rosengarten range in the main Dolomites – and their trails are far less welltrodden. While they are steep, few peaks rise above 3000m, and the paths are easy
Pinzolo and the Val Genova
| The Dolomiti di Brenta
Buses from Trento to Madonna di Campiglio skirt Monte Bondone and wind their way past a series of patchy hills and villages, passing Lago di Toblino. From here, the road continues west, turning into the Valle Rendena at Tione di Trento, where a more remote landscape of pasture and forest begins. Two villages well worth jumping off the bus for are the ski village of PINZOLO and Carisolo, which lie just a couple of kilometres apart on the main road, for their well-preserved sixteenth-century frescoes of the danse macabre. Simone Baschenis was one of a family of itinerant artists who decorated several small churches in Trentino in the 1500s. Among them was Pinzolo’s romanesque church of San Vigilio (Tues–Sat 9.30–11.30am & 2.30–5.30pm, Sun 2.30–5.30pm; stays open later in summer). On the south facade, a band of skeletons playing trumpets and bag-pipes accompanies a procession representing the social order of the day – from emperors, cardinals and finely dressed ladies to soldiers, beggars and even a cherubic toddler who has a mini skeleton friend to remind him of his own mortality. Inside is a fine Annunciation from the thirteenth century, attributed to the Tuscan school, and other works by Simone Baschenis, among them the Life of San Vigilio, the young Bishop of Trento. Another good reason to pause in Pinzolo is that it makes a less expensive overnight stop than its sister ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio up the road, especially if you stay at Salvatera, a lovely B&B at Via Marconi 44 (T 0465.501 171; 1 ; minimum stay of a week in mid-August). There are a couple of small campsites too; one of these, Faè della Val Rendena (T 0465.507.178; June–Sept & Dec–April), is near Sant’Antonio di Mavignola. The other church in these parts decorated by the same artists lies two kilometres from Carisolo, on the road into the beautiful Val Genova. Near the start of the valley you’ll see a sign pointing down a track to the church of Santo Stefano (Tues–Sat 10–11.30am & 3.30–5pm, Sun 3.30–5pm), which has more frescoes of the danse macabre by the Baschenis on an outside wall, and others inside the spare, atmospheric interior depicting the legend of Charlemagne’s passage through the Val di Campiglio on the way to his coronation in Rome. Back on the Val Genova road, your route follows a cascading river up through woods to an information point at Ponte Verde (4km from Carisolo) where you can rent bikes or take a footpath that passes several waterfalls, spectacular in the spring melt and after rain, or in winter when they are frozen solid and a glacial turquoise inside. Most impressive is the Cascata di Nárdis, a five-minute walk from Ponte Verde, where several channels spill down the granite rock walls of the mountainside. A 4.5-kilometre walk or bike ride will bring you to Ponte Maria (no cars are
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to follow. It should be said, though, that the walking is strenuous. Climbers come here for the towers of Cima Tosa and Cima Brenta, accessible by vie ferrate – iron “ladders” knocked into the rock (see p.220). Their position, clinging tenaciously to the rock walls, is sensational. If you are looking for easier strolls, Val Genova has a gentler beauty, with a woodland path taking you past a number of waterfalls cascading down the mountainside. The range is circled by a good but slow and winding road, the southern half of which passes through the quiet lake resort of Molveno. The Trento-to-Madonna di Campiglio road takes you past the frescoed churches and wooded valleys of the Valle Rendena before arriving at Campiglio itself, the best base for skiing in the area, and a transport hub for walkers and climbers. The northern half of the Brenta mountains is bounded by the Val di Non and the Val di Sole, both served by the private Trento-Malé railway line.
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allowed beyond this point) from where a shuttle bus runs ( July & Aug daily, every 30min) another 8.5km to Malga Bédole (1584m), a settlement used by shepherds in summer. A two- to three-hour hike from there along trail 212 is the Rifugio Città di Trento (T 0465.501.193; mid-June to mid-Sept & mid-March to 10 May; access in snowy weather is from Passo Tonale by cable car and then chair-lift) at 2480m, within reach of the Adamello glaciers. You don’t need a car to get to Val Genova – two express bus services run from Madonna di Campiglio, and from Pinzolo and Carisolo, to Bédole once a day in the morning, returning late afternoon. TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Madonna di Campiglio
| The Dolomiti di Brenta
The major village in the Val Rendena is MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, an upmarket ski resort 70km from Trento known as “Campiglio” for short. This is where the Austro-Hungarian aristocracy holidayed in the nineteenth century, although not much of that era remains – what you see now is a very twentiethcentury resort, hotel balconies groaning under the weight of geraniums. Winter sports and a quiet summer hiking season are Campiglio’s reason for existence and the climbing and walking in the Dolomiti di Brenta are superb. A dozen buses a day run from Trento to Madonna di Campiglio’s main square, while there’s a train (approx hourly) to Malé, 23km north, from where handily timed bus connections will take you into town. The helpful tourist office, not far from the main square on Via Pradalago 4 (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2–6pm, Sun 9am–12.30pm; T 0465.447.501, W www.campiglio.to), can provide accommodation information and detailed maps (€1) of day-hikes from town. A few doors along, at Via Pradalago 17, the Alpine Guide office (daily 10am–noon & 4–8pm; T 0465.442.634, W www.guidealpinecampiglio.it) has information on hiking trails and vie ferrate and offers a variety of climbing courses and mountain excursions in summer. Internet facilities are available at the library (Mon–Sat afternoons) upstairs at the lakeside sports centre. As Campiglio’s hotels can be pricey and often insist on a three- to seven-night minimum stay, the best option, if you’re walking, is to overnight in a rifugio (see p.220). The best way to approach the trailheads is by cable car from Carlo Magno, 3km north of the village centre, to Grostè (daily: mid-June to mid-Sept 8.30am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; middle two weeks in Aug from 8am; €10.50 one way, €15.50 return). If you’re not into hard trekking, an alternative is to take the Funivia Cinque Laghi cable car (late June to late Aug daily 8.30am–12.50pm & 2–5.20pm; €7.50 one way, €10 return) from the centre of the village west into the Presanella group. A scenic two-and-a-half-hour route will take you via Lago Ritorto back down to the valley.
Walking in the Brenta massif
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Once you’re at GROSTÈ (2437m) you can plan your own routes as long as you have a decent hiking map. Rifugio Graffer (T 0465.441.358, W www.graffer.com; June 20–Sept 20 & Dec–April) is conveniently next to the cable-car terminus, at 2261m. You can pick up trail 316 nearby, and set out across boulder-strewn slopes towards the Sella and Tuckett rifugi at 2272m (both T 0465.441.226, W www .sat.tn.it; June 20–Sept 20). The latter is named after the most prodigious of nineteenth-century climbers, Francis Fox Tuckett, who wrote that he “roamed amongst toppling rocks, and spires of white and brown and bronze coloured stone” when he climbed in this range, and succeeded in opening up a difficult new route called the Bochetta di Tuckett. As ice axes hadn’t been invented, he negotiated snowfields with a ladder and alpenstock (long staff ), and carried joints of meat and bottles of wine for mountaintop breakfasts.
Trail 328 (becoming 318) starts just past the Sella and Tuckett refuges, bringing you (in about four hours from Grostè) to Rifugio Brentei (T 0465.441.244, W www.rifugiobrentei.it; mid-June to Sept), set at 2489m, midway between the Cima Brenta and Cima Tosa mountain peaks. At this point, you’ll probably want to stay overnight here. Next day, if you can cope with snowfields, you can extend your walk by trekking up to the Bocca di Brenta and crossing over the ridge to meet trail 319 down to Molveno, or simply return to Campiglio via trails 318 and 316 (3hr 30min).
| East of Trento
On the other side of the Brenta mountain range from Campiglio is the lakeside village of MOLVENO, and 4km away by road or beautiful wooded trail is the slightly smaller town of ANDALO. Both are known for the quality of their wild mushrooms, and many Italians come here to pick them, getting hold of a mushrooming licence (€5 per day, €20 per week) from the local comune or the tourist office at Andalo on Piazza Dolomiti ( July & Aug Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm; Sept–June Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–6.30pm; Sun throughout the year 9.30am–12.30pm; T 0461.585.836). A word of warning – each year 40,000 or so Italians suffer mushroom poisoning, so obviously only pick them if you know what you are doing. Another option is to head for the Parco Faunistico’s Brown Bear Area in Spormaggiore (mid-June to mid-Sept daily 9.30am–6.30pm; €5, €4 for under 14, free for under 6; T 0461.653.622, W www.parcofaunistico.tn.it), about 14km northeast of Molveno and accessible by bus from there. The Life Ursus project has created a “natural habitat” for a declining bear population, with animals taken from Italian zoos to prepare them for reintroduction into the wild. The enclosed outdoor area (follow the signs for the area orsi) lets you observe the bears – although the stars of the show spend a lot of time sleeping. A visitor centre back in the village (same hours; combined ticket with Brown Bear Area; W www .pnab.it) tells the story of the project.
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Molveno and Andalo
East of Trento If you’re into high mountains, a trip east of Trento to a group of stunning pinnacles and bare peaks called the Pale di San Martino is unmissable. Now 2000m above sea level, the range was formed as a coral reef sixty million years ago – white shells crunch underfoot as you walk, and the pale rock reflects light, even at dawn. The Pale are part of the Parco Naturale Panevéggio, an area of gently rolling woods and summer pastures with many walks, trails and campsites. The nearest resort is San Martino di Castrozzo, the terminus for buses travelling from Trento along the Valsugana and the Val di Fiemme.
Imer, Mezzano and Fiera di Primiero On the way from Trento to San Martino you pass through the archetypal tourist villages of IMER and, a couple of kilometres east, MEZZANO. The valley they’re located in is wide, with hay meadows spreading either side, and makes a good place to walk or cycle, with cycle tracks linking the villages and easy paths running into the foothills. As far as accommodation goes, an alternative to the alpine-style hotels in the villages is Camping Calavise, a well-signposted 1km from Imer, which has a bar and swimming pool nearby as well as a wi-fi zone
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| East of Trento
and jazz concerts in summer (T 0439.67.468, W www.campingcalavise.it; €7 per person, plus €6.50 for tent and car). Or you could head for the Rifugio Fonteghi (T 0439.67.043, W www.rifugiofonteghi.com; April–Oct): the 45-minute walk along the path on the south side of the Val Noana reservoir will help you build up an appetite for their home-made pasta dishes, home-grown veg and game – half pension costs €50 per person. Around 4km from Imer, FIERA DI PRIMIERO is a larger resort and market town with a tourist office ( July & Aug Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm, Sun 9.30am–12.30pm; Sept–June Mon–Sat 8.30am–12.30pm & 3.30–6pm, Sun 9.30am–noon; T 0439.62.407). It’s a major crossroads in the area, from where buses run up to the beginning of the Val Canali and to Passo Cereda (1369m). The mountains around Fiera were worked for silver, iron and copper from the thirteenth century, and miners’ guilds paid for the town’s late Gothic parish church near the fortified Palazzo delle Miniere (where the precious metals were guarded before being sent to the mint). Inside the church is a beautiful painting of The Hunt of the Mystic Unicorn and a fine fifteenth-century carved altar showing scenes from the Virgin Mary’s life. Recent excavations have brought to light the remains of a paleo-Christian basilica dating from the fifth to sixth centuries. It’s well worth a stroll round the village – paintings made in the sixteenth century on the outside of some of the older houses have survived the elements: in one slightly disturbing one, a Madonna della Misericordia shelters a white-cowled member of the Battuti fraternity flogging himself with a scourge.
San Martino di Castrozza The road into SAN MARTINO DI CASTROZZA twists and turns, and you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere until the resort’s new hotels appear around the corner. One of the smarter Dolomite resorts, tourism took off here in the nineteenth century, but as far back as the Middle Ages, travellers and pilgrims stopped here for the night, staying at the monastery, of which only traces remain. Visitors come here now for skiing and hiking – hourly buses south to Fiera di Primiero and Imer, and cable-car routes into the mountains make San Martino one of the best walking bases in the area. The tourist office, next to the bus stop at Via Passo Rolle 165 (mid-June to Sept Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3.40–7pm; Sun July & Aug 9.30am–12.30pm & 4pm–7pm, June & Sept 9.30am–12.30pm; Oct to mid-June Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 2.20–5.30pm, Sun 9.30am–noon; T 0439.768.867, W www.sanmartino.com) has a detailed walking map of the area, giving information about rifugi, difficulty levels, approximate times and so on. For a low-cost place to stay, try the Ostello Dolomiti, around 1km from the town centre near the Malga Ces lifts and Sass Maòr campsite on Via Laghetti 43 (T 0439.769.166, W www.ostellodolomiti.com; from €22–32 per person in a six-bed dorm depending on the season; bedrooms for four also available). Closer to town, Vienna (T 0439.68.078; 3 ) on Via Herman Panzer 1 has a sauna, Turkish bath and spa. The alternative is to pitch a tent at the village campsite, Sass Maòr (T 0439.68.347, W www.campingsassmaor.it), on Via Laghetti – booking ahead is essential in high season.
Parco Naturale Panevéggio
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Out of San Martino, traffic files up to Passo di Rolle, a beautiful stretch of high moorland dotted with avalanche breaks and a few sheep. There are only two buses a day, so a car really helps here. The Passo di Rolle falls within the Parco Naturale Panevéggio (W www.parcopan.org), which protects a vast area of ancient woodland as well as the high peaks of the Pale di San Martino. Crisscrossed by nature trails and
Hiking in the Pale di San Martino
| East of Trento
The most dramatic part of the Panevéggio national park is the Pale di San Martino – a large plateau surrounded by razor-sharp peaks. Ranging from 2600m to 3200m in altitude, you should be prepared for snow, wind and rain, even in the summer, as well as scorching sunlight and the most stupendous views. There are two main entry points – the Val Canali (accessed from Fiera di Primiero) and the cable car from San Martino di Castrozza. The Val Canali was described by Amelia Edwards in the nineteenth century as the most “lonely, desolate and tremendous scene to be found this side of the Andes”. Things have changed since the arrival of the Alta Via 2 walking route which runs through here but the valley retains a feeling of isolation. Buses from Fiera di Primiero run to the trailheads of the valley via the Passo Cereda. You’ll find the official campsite, the Castelpietra (T 0439.62.426, W www.castelpietra.it; June–Oct & Nov–April; €6.80 per person, €9.40 per pitch including parking and electricity, bungalows 1 ) opposite the national park centre, and there are further places to camp at the head of the glen. Rifugio Treviso (T 0439.62.311; late June to mid-Sept) is a possible overnight stop, while the more luxurious Cant del Gal (T 0439.62.997; 2 ), further down the valley, has ten rooms and a good restaurant – one of its specialities is local cheese tosela served with mushrooms and polenta. A stiff ascent from Rifugio Treviso brings you onto the Altopiano delle Pale at Passo di Pradidali, where eagles can be seen circling above the barren plateau and the silence is broken every so often by a trickle of falling stones. Once you are at this altitude, there are many possibilities for linking up with other trails across the stark upland. Rifugio Pedrotti alla Rosetta (T 0439.68.308 or 347.049.8929; June 20–Sept 20), at 2581m, is the nearest place with accommodation (a 2hr 30min hike north; also reachable by cable car – see below); run by Roberta Lott and her alpine-guide husband Mariano, its facilities include hot showers, a restaurant with good home-cooking and bar. The fastest route into the Pale di San Martino is via cable car from San Martino. The Colverde funicular ( June 14–Sept 20 daily 8am–4.45pm; journey up €10, down €9, return trip €16.50; T 0439.68.204) from the village runs to the foot of the Pale, from where the Rosetta chair lift takes you up to to Rifugio Pedrotti alla Rosetta perched on the edge of the Altopiano. From the Rosetta chair-lift terminus, you can make for Rifugio Pradidali at 2278m (T 0439.64.180; June 20–Sept 20), a walk and descent of three hours. A more ambitious walk would be to continue on from the refuge over the Passo di Ball, returning from there to San Martino or
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ancient paved paths called reversi, the park gives you a sense of rural life on the summer pastures and in the forest, and makes an atmospheric venue for some of the open-air concerts in the Suoni delle Dolomiti series (see p.218). Entry to the park costs €2 and the Panevéggio visitor centre offers guided half-day walks into the forest (€5). There are three visitor centres in the park: San Martino (late June to early Sept daily 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm; T 0439.768.859), Villa Welsperg in the Val Canali ( June–Sept daily 9am–12.30pm & 3–6pm; Oct–Dec Mon–Fri 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5pm; Jan–May Mon–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 3–6pm; also open certain Sundays in low season, call to check; T 0439.765.973) and Panevéggio, 7km from the pass (9am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm: early June to mid-Sept daily; Christmas to March Tues & Fri; mid-April to early June Sun only; T 0462.576.283). You can camp next to Lago Panevéggio: the entrance is at the end of the track marked “Area della Sosta”, just past the village. Facilities are minimal and stays are limited to 24 hours. There’s a proper campsite, Bellamonte (T 0462.576.119, W www .campingbellamonte.it; €7 per person, €2 per tent, plus extra for vehicle), 4km down the road to Predazzo (see p.232) surrounded by meadows and hay lofts.
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descending over into Val Canali at Rifugio Cant del Gal. If you prefer the relative security of a guided trek, ask at the desk of the Gruppo Guide Alpine (daily 4–7pm; T 0461.768.795), in the same building as the tourist office; they run graded excursions most days in July and August.
Val di Fiemme
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| The Catinaccio and Gruppo di Sella
Once you’re out of the confines of the park, PREDAZZO is the first town you come to in the Val di Fiemme, which lies between two immense mountain massifs: the Latemar and the Catena di Lagorai. Predazzo has become something of a pilgrimage site for geologists, owing to the extensive collection of local rocks and fossils in the Museo Civico di Geologia on Piazza Santi Filippo e Giacomo (T 0462.500.366; July–Sept Mon–Sat 10am–noon & 5–7pm). Surprisingly accessible to non-experts, the displays include samples of the Dolomitic calcite rock first identified by the elaborately named French mineralogist Dieudonné Sylvain Guy Tancrède de Gratet de Dolomieu. Throughout the valley, hotel hoardings are ubiquitous, and even the tiniest villages hereabouts have a plan of the mountain ranges with chair lifts marked, but behind the modern Dolomites tourist industry, this is an ancient region that from the twelfth to the seventeenth centuries was virtually autonomous. A local parliament met at the Banco de la reson, a circle of stone benches surrounded by trees in CAVALESE, the chief town of the Val di Fiemme, and the Magnifica Comunità of Cavalese still administers communal land. A short way beyond Cavalese’s town centre, at Via Fratelli Bronzetti 60, on the road to Tésero, is a small tourist office (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3.30–7pm; mid-July & Aug also Sun 9am–noon; T 0462.241.111, W www.visitfiemme.it). Once restoration is complete, be sure to visit the fabulously frescoed medieval Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità in Cavalese. This was the Bishop of Trento’s summer palace, and now houses a small museum and gallery (T 0462.340.365, W www.magnificacomunitafiemme.it; currently closed for renovation, but check if it has reopened at the tourist office) containing the original valley statutes, carefully kept in wood-panelled rooms, with fine wooden ceilings and painted friezes. The building’s lack of fortifications indicates that Trento’s bishop felt safe from the armed rebellions that had plagued him in the city, and its exterior is covered in frescoes depicting St Vigilio (Trento’s patron saint). With its cobbled streets, cake shops and ice-cream outlets, Cavalese makes a relaxing afternoon stop, but if you decide to stay, head for Laurino, a central hotel in a seventeenth-century palace that’s been decorated in a beautifully pared-down Tyrolean style (T 0462.340.151, W www.hotelgarnilaurino.com; 2). TÉSERO, 4km away, has a parish church frescoed with Cristo della Domenica (Christ of the Sabbath) who stands in the middle surrounded by more than thirty symbols depicting the things you mustn’t do on a Sunday – drinking, work and commerce among them.
The Catinaccio and Gruppo di Sella
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The Catinaccio (or Rosengarten) range is one of the best-known sights in the Dolomites. This immense wall of rock along the edge of the 3000m-high massif takes on a famously rosy glow at sunset, and the mountain plays a starring role in the legends of the area. Trails across this mountain are popular with mainly Italian and German walkers and, although the zigzag paths to the peaks can be crowded in August, once you’re above the cable-car line, there’s plenty of wilderness to lose yourself in.
Access is simple enough from Vigo di Fassa, the main place to stay in the Val di Fassa, which splits off from the Val di Fiemme north of Predazzo at Moena. If you travel these roads and trails, you pass through one of the heartlands of Ladino culture (see box below). At the head of the Val di Fassa, Canazei makes a good springboard for the high plateaux of the Gruppo di Sella, and the gentler trail of the Viel del Pan, which leads down to the tiny resort of Arabba. On the northern side of the Sella group, Corvara is a much larger resort with a sizeable Ladino population.
Ladin country The Ladins (Ladini in Italian, Ladinisch in German) are a community of around 30,000 people living in the Gardena, Badia, Fassa, Livinallongo and Ampezzo valleys around the Sella massif. They’re united by their ancient language – Ladin – which was once spoken over a wide area, from Austria down to the River Po (in what’s now EmiliaRomagna). The Dolomitic Ladin language, preserved by the relative remoteness of the territory, is linked to Swiss Romansch (there are 40,000 speakers in the Swiss Engadine) and Friulano (more than 700,000 speakers in the Friuli region of Italy). The history of the Ladins is recorded in their epics, which recount tales of battles, treachery and reversals of fortune. Around 400 AD, the Ladins were constantly threatened with invasion by Germanic tribes from the north and others from the Po valley. Christianity later emerged as a major threat, but the Ladins absorbed and transformed the new religion, investing the new saints with the powers of more ancient female divinities. The Museo Ladin de Fascia (June 20–Sept 10 and Christmas, Mon–Sat 10am–12.30pm & 3.30–7pm; rest of the year Tues–Sat 3–7pm; €4; Wwww.istladin.net), between San Giovanni and Vigo di Fassa, is devoted to traditional Ladin working life and provides a fascinating introduction to Ladin culture, with intriguing exhibits on the language and history. It also has exhibits scattered throughout the territory, including a restored nineteenth-century cooperage (Botega da Pinter) at Via Dolomiti 3, in Moena; a restored watermill (Molin de Pezol) at Via Jumela 6 in Pera di Fassa; and a working, antique sawmill (La Sia) at Via Pian Trevisan in Penia, just outside Canazei. Tourist offices throughout the area have details of festivals, exhibitions and events.
| The Catinaccio and Gruppo di Sella
The Catinaccio range was described by nineteenth-century writer Theodor Christomannos as a “gigantic fortification… the gate into the kingdom of immortal ghosts, of high-flying giants”. The area’s German name, Rosengarten (rose garden), derives from the legend of Laurin, king of the dwarves, who used to grow roses here. The king, angered when he was prevented from being with his beloved princess Similde, put a spell on the roses so that no one would see them again by day or night, but forgot to include dawn and dusk, which is when the low sun gives the rock its fiery glow. The trails across the range cater for all levels of hiking ability; however, the going does get tough on the ridges, from where you can see as far as the Stubaier Alps, on the border with Austria, but if you buy a Kompass map and plan your route carefully, you can keep your walks well within your capabilities. The most popular approach to Catinaccio is from the hamlet of VIGO DI FASSA. The village, served by buses on the Trento–Canazei route, has a few three-star hotels – try the good-value Renato, Strada di Solar 27 (T 0462.764.006, W www.hotelrenato.it; €85 per person, half-board only), which has a spa, pool and many rooms with balconies; or the welcoming Rifugio Roda di Vael (T 0462.764.450,
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Catinaccio
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W www.rodadivael.it; June–Sept), in a spectacular position a ninety-minute walk
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| The Catinaccio and Gruppo di Sella 234
from the village along trails 547 and 545. The trek to Torri del Vajolet (2813m) from Vigo di Fassa is the classic route up onto the range. The cable car from the village to Rifugio Ciampedie (T 0462.764.432; mid-June to mid-Oct) covers most of the ascent, after which a well-beaten trail leads through woods to the basic Rifugio Gardeccia (T 0462.763.152, W www.gardeccia.it; early June to early Oct). From here it’s a steep walk up to the Torri, although this doesn’t put off the hordes of summer weekend walkers who form a line to make the dramatic, zigzagging climb to Rifugio Re Alberto (T 0462.763.428, W www .rifugiorealberto.com; mid-June to mid-Sept; lunch and dinner daily), three hours from Rifugio Ciampedie. There’s alternative accommodation nearby at Rifugio Vàiolet (T 0462.763.292 or 769.045, W www.rifugiovajolet.com; mid-June to end Sept), a welcome base for climbers since 1897 and a ninety-minute walk from Ciampedie.
Canazei CANAZEI, a buzzing summer and winter resort at the head of the Val di Fassa (W www.fassa.com) is a stepping stone to the stupendous high road passes between here and Cortina d’Ampezzo. You may also find yourself staying here before or after walking in the Gruppo di Sella or strolling along a much easier trail – the Viel del Pan opposite glacier-topped Marmolada. For a good base to stay, check out La Zondra (T 0462.601.233, W www.lazondra.com; 2 ), with balconied rooms on Via Pareda; or Giardino delle Rose (T 0462.602.221; 2 ) on Via Dolomiti, in the village centre; Villa Mozart (T 0462.601.254, W www.hotelvillamozart.com; half-board compulsory in high season €70 per person), also central, on Strada Roma, is geared up for motorbikers and offers good deals in spring and autumn. From Canazei, it’s well worth driving the switchback road of 27 bends that climbs for 12km towards the Passo Pordoi. Although it’s often busy with busloads of tourists heading for the scenic Great Dolomites Road (see p.249) and determined cyclists making the thousand-metre ascent, the view when you get there is unforgettable. Between mid-June and mid-September there are four buses daily from Canazei to Passo Pordoi (at 8.38am, 10.05am, 3.06pm & 4.23pm) and the journey takes between 30min and an hour, depending on whether or not you have to change at the Passo Pordoi bivio ( junction). Halfway along the road, the cable car at Pradel leads to Passo di Sella (2240m), one of the most impressive of the Dolomite passes. Paths climb from here onto the jagged peaks of the Sasso Lungo (Langkofel) and follow the ridges down onto the Alpe di Siusi. It takes two days to walk from the Sella pass, via Rifugio Vicenza (T 0471.792.323, W www.rifugiovicenza.com; June–Sept), into the Val Gardena (Grödnertal). Just past Pradel the road forks. Straight ahead is the Gruppo di Sella – an arid lunar plateau surrounded by pink, dolomitic peaks. A right-hand turning takes you up to Passo Pordoi (2242m), an astonishing vantage point between the Gruppo di Sella and Marmolada. At 3246m, Marmolada is the highest Dolomite and its rounded peak is permanently shrouded by a glacier. From here, mountains radiate in every direction, giving you a chance to identify the distinctive shapes of each of the main Dolomite ranges. In the foreground, the Sasso Lungo look like a jagged, gloved hand, flanked by two prominent peaks; the Gruppo di Sella is squat and chunky; and Sciliar (Schlern), just visible in the distance, comprises a flat rocky tabletop, culminating in two peaks. A small road winds downwards to Passo Falzárego, and ultimately Cortina d’Ampezzo. From Passo Pordoi you can join Alta Via 2, or if you simply want to stretch your legs, walk a short section of it known as the Viel del Pan (see below). Most tourist buses
and plenty of bikers stop at the collection of cafés and stalls at the pass. The hotels here may insist on half-board; try the biker-friendly Pordoi (T 0462.601.115, W www.passo-pordoi.it; €65 per person in high season, half-board only).
A walk along the Viel del Pan
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| Bolzano (Bozen)
If you’re not a great walker, there’s an easy twenty-minute stroll from the Passo Pordoi that gives a terrific view of the Dolomites – far better than the views from the road. Pick up the Alta Via 2 trail just past the Albergo Savoia. A narrow path cut into the turf traverses the mountainside opposite the glaciers of Marmolada, which was right on the front during World War I. Entire Austrian battalions managed to overwinter inside Marmolada by blasting 8km of tunnel tens of metres deep under the ice and rock. From the seventeenth century this path was on the grain-smuggling route called the Viel del Pan (“trail of bread” in Venetian dialect), and it remained busy enough in the nineteenth century for the Guardia di Finanza to set up armed patrols along it. The contrast between the glacier on Marmolada and the peaks of the Sella group – 360 degrees of mountain – is superb. When you’ve had enough of walking, the easiest option is to return the same way to the Passo Pordoi. Or you can keep going on the same path until you reach Lago Fedaia, from where there are irregular buses in summer back to Canazei. Another possibility is to continue along the ridge, eventually heading back down to the valley to ARABBA, a small resort, where you can stay at the Garni Emma (T 0436.79.116, E
[email protected]; 1 ), which has a family atmosphere and sits beside a small stream. The Canazei-to-Passo Pordoi bus (see opposite) continues on to the village, taking just over an hour.
Corvara and around The central town of the Ladin ethnic group, CORVARA is primarily a ski resort, and it also makes a good base for the excellent trails of the nearby Fánes Park (see p.246), a bus ride away, where most of the Ladin legends are based. The tourist office at Strada Col Alt 36 (Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 3–7pm, Sat 8.30am–12.30pm & 3–6pm, Sun 10am–noon & 4–6pm; T 0471.836.176, W www.altabadia.org) has details of hotels and rooms in private houses. The chalet-style Monti Pallidi, Strada Col Alt 75 (T 0471.836.081, W www.montipallidi.net; 2 ), has excellentvalue, modern rooms and mini apartments, most with a kitchenette. Corvara is on the summer bus route from Canazei (see opposite; 1hr 20min); buses also leave hourly for Brunico and once daily (12.45pm) for Belluno from outside the tourist office. Some 4.5km north of Corvara is La Villa, a small village with a fairytale sixteenth-century castle. SAN CASSIANO, 4km further east, towards the Paso di Valparola, is home to the luxurious Rosa Alpina (T 0471.849.500, W www .rosalpina.it; 8–9), a cool, luscious and extremely hip spa hotel with a celebrated restaurant. Rates range from €170 to €230 per person per day in summer, up to €600 per room at the height of the ski season.
Bolzano (Bozen) Situated on the junction of the rivers Talvera (Talfer) and Isarco (Eisack), BOLZANO (largely known by its German name, Bozen) is the capital of the autonomous province of Alto Adige. In both winter and summer, the town’s 100,000 population swells with tourists although it manages to maintain a relaxed pace of life and is an
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The Italianization of the Tyrol
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The South Tyrol was Italy’s prize for cooperation with the Allies in World War I. When Mussolini’s fascists came to power in 1923 the region was renamed Alto Adige after the upper reaches of the Adige river. Despite the fact that German speakers outnumbered Italian speakers by about ten to one, a process of Italianization was imposed on the area. Cartographers remade maps, substituting Italian place names for German; people were forced to adopt Italian names; the teaching of German in schools was banned and stonemasons were even brought in to chip away German inscriptions from tombstones. World War II then intervened, and by 1946, Austria and Italy came to an agreement ratified under the Paris Peace Treaty that Austria would give up its claim to the region on condition that Italy took steps to redress some of the cultural damage perpetrated under Fascism. Successive governments have channelled funds into the area allowing both more independence than ever before and much greater say in local law. Over the last few years, Italy has moved closer into the European Union, and its central and regional governments have had to become more tolerant of ethnic diversity and, increasingly, it is German that is the language of preference in Alto Adige.
| Bolzano (Bozen)
excellent base from which to explore the surrounding mountains. An unmissable pleasure is the local wine: Bolzano is at the head of the Wine Road (Strada del Vino/ Südtiroler Weinstrasse) which runs south to the border with Trentino. Located in a predominantly sunny, sheltered bowl, for centuries Bolzano was a valley market town and way-station whose fortunes in the Middle Ages swayed as the counts of Tyrol and the bishops of Trento competed for power. The town passed to the Habsburgs in the fourteenth century, then at the beginning of the nineteenth century Bavaria took control, opposed by Tyrolese patriot and military leader Andreas Hofer. His battle in 1809 to keep the Tyrol under Austrian rule was only temporarily successful, as in the same year the Austrian emperor ceded the Tyrol to the Napoleonic kingdom of Italy. More changes followed, as Bolzano was handed back to Austria until World War I, whereupon it passed, like the rest of the province, to Italy.
Arrival and information Bolzano’s bus station, centrally placed at Via Perathoner 4, serves most of the small villages and resorts in the province; the train station is a few minutes’ walk south of here through the park down Via Stazione. The small airport (with seasonal charters and a few scheduled flights from Rome and Olbia) is a ten-minute drive from the centre: it’s a €10 taxi ride, or you can take bus #4 or #10 from the airport entrance (a 600m walk from the terminal building) to Piazza Walther. Bus tickets cost €1 and are bought aboard the bus. There is a city tourist office at Piazza Walther 8 (Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9.30am–6pm; T 0471.307.000, W www.bolzano-bozen.it and www.suedtirol.info) where you can pick up the Bolzano Museumobil card which gives free unlimited use of public transport (buses, regional trains and certain funivie) in the region, and free access to over 80 museums: a three-day card costs €16 and a seven-day card €22. Children between 6 and 12 pay half-price. It is available at tourist offices throughout the region and at participating museums. 236
Accommodation Located on the historic route south from other parts of Europe, Bolzano has a long tradition of hospitality and offers some special places to stay that are well
worth splashing out on. The best option if the budget is tight is the youth hostel, or one of the pensione a little way out of town, which are listed at W www.bolzano -bozen.it. Moosbauer campsite (T 0471.918.492, W www.moosbauer.com) is a very nice eco-campsite dedicated to helping guests understand all aspects of the Alto Adige: it’s on the main Bolzano–Merano road and costs €15.90 per pitch plus €8.90 per person.
Castel Roncolo
Cable car to San Genesio-Jenesien
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EATING & DRINKING Cavallino Bianco 2 Fischbanke 3 Forsterbräu Central 4 Hopfen & Co 6 Laurin 10 Lounge Exil Café 8 Nadamas 5 Oca Bianca 1 Stadt Café B Vögele 7 Zur Kaiserkron 9
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| Bolzano (Bozen)
Figl Piazza del Grano 9 T 0471.978.412, W www .figl.net. Though this shuttered hotel in the square looks old from the outside, the rooms have been refurbished and are simple and cheerful. 4 Hotel Greif Piazza Waltherplatz T0471.318.000, Wwww.greif.it. The Black Griffin inn that stood on this spot for 500 years has been transformed into a boutique hotel. Each of the 33 luxurious rooms and suites has been designed by a contemporary artist, with Biedermeier furniture from the original hotel blending surprisingly well with the new hip-luxe style. Guests have use of the park and pool at Grief’s sister hotel, the Parkhotel Laurin. 5
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Hotel Regina Via Renon 1 T 0471.972.195, Wwww.hotelreginabz.it. Great location opposite the train station, and friendly staff. The quietest rooms are at the back: some rooms (lower rates) on the main-road side have views of the hills. 2 Kohlern at the top of the Colle/Kohlern cable car T0471.329.978, W www .kohlern.com. Stylish and beautifully run hotel with indulgent spa and fantastic infinity pool, on a mountainside with bird’s-eye views of Bolzano. 4 Parkhotel Laurin Via Laurin 4 T0471.311.000, Wwww.laurin.it. A rather marvellous, grand hotel built in 1910, set in lush gardens with a small heated swimming pool, children’s play area, bar,
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| Bolzano (Bozen) 238
restaurant (see opposite) and several commissioned works of contemporary sculpture. The rooms are restful and understated, some have terraces, others balconies, one has its own roof terrace. The food in the secluded open-air restaurant is excellent. The bar, with its King Laurin fresco (1911) by Jugendstil artist Bruno Goldschmitt, hosts jazz nights at weekends. Bikes for guest use (with child seats available too). Good deals on the website and at weekends. 4 Pension Röllhof Kampenn, Kohlern T0471.329.958, Wwww.roellhof.com. Set 930m above sea level, this is an appealing, chalet-style pensione a 10min drive up a steep, switchback road from the centre of Bolzano. Open Easter–Nov. 2 Stadt Hotel Città Piazza Waltherplatz 21 T 0471.975.221, W www.hotelcitta.info.
Comfortable four-star hotel right in the centre of the Old Town, with 101 distinctive modern rooms, set above the excellent Stadt Caffè. 4
Hostel Ostello Bolzano/Jugendherberge Bozen Via Renon 23, 200m from the train station T0471.300.865, Wwww.ostello.bz. Cheerful and modern, this hostel is one of a chain in the South Tyrol offering good-quality, low-cost accommodation to young people and families with children. Facilities include internet access, board games, table tennis and the use of laundry facilities. You can get to the hostel by turning right out of the station and you’ll find it on the right-hand side of the main road. It costs €23 for a single and €20 for a bed in a 3- or 4-bed room.
The Town Central Bolzano definitely looks like a part of the German-speaking world. Restaurants serve speck, goulash and knödel, and bakers sell black bread and sachertorte. The centre of town is Piazza Walther, whose pavement cafés, around its statue of the minnesinger (troubadour) Walther von der Vogelweide, are the town’s favoured meeting places. Converted into a cathedral as recently as 1964, the Duomo (Dom) sits on the edge of the square; built in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and restored after being bombed in World War II, it has a striking mosaic roof and elaborately carved spire. The fourteenth-century Franciscan church on Via dei Francescani is also worth seeking out, embellished with a carved wooden altarpiece by Hans Klocher and with elegant, frescoed cloisters from the same period. A couple of streets west of Piazza Walther, on Via Cappuccini, the Chiesa dei Domenicani (Dominican monastery) has frescoes of fifteenth-century courtly life painted on the walls of the decaying cloisters, framed by a growth of stone tracery. The Cappella di San Giovanni, built at the beginning of the fourteenth century, retains frescoes by painters of the Giotto school, including a Triumph of Death underneath a starry vault. Follow the street north to Piazza delle Erbe, site of a daily fruit and vegetable market, from where the oriel windows and eleventhcentury arcades of Via Portici lead off to the right. A visit to the Museo Archeologico (Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; also open Mon in July & Aug; W www.archaeologiemuseum.it; €9), a ten-minute walk west of the centre at Via Museo (Museumstrasse) 43, is a must. Its major exhibit is the Ice Man, the frozen, mummified body of a man discovered in the ice of the Ötzaler Alps in 1991. At first it was thought that the body – nicknamed “Ötzi” – was that of a soldier or a mountaineer, then an investigation revealed that, amazingly, it dated from around 3300 BC. Visitors can view the mummy through a small window in a high-tech refrigeration unit while a video suggests how he may have come to his untimely end. Just as fascinating are the minutiae of the discovery: the Ice Man was around 45 years old but has no tooth decay; he carried a sophisticated fire-lighting kit of different kinds of tinder for starting a fire in extreme conditions; he wore elaborate thermal shoes, a cap and backpack, and, intriguingly, his body bears tattoos at certain neuralgic points that are thought to have relieved the pain of arthritis. Nearby at Via Dante is Bolzano’s brand-new museum of contemporary art Museion (daily 10am–6pm, Thurs closes 10pm; W www.museion.it; €6).
Eating, drinking and nightlife
Restaurants Cavallino Bianco (Weisses Rössel) Via dei Bottai/ Bindergasse 6 T 0471.973.267. This bierkeller features a menu strong on Tyrolean specialities with hearty rustic mains selling at €11–15. Closed Sat eve, Sun, and July. Hopfen & Co Obstplatz 17 T 0471.300.788. On the corner of the fruit market at Piazza delle Erbe. Sit outside in summer and watch the people flow past, or warm up inside in winter in its cosy labyrinth of little rooms. They brew their own beer (hence the strong smell of malt and hops) and serve good wintery fare year round – leek and potato soup (€5.70), goulash (€5.90), canedeli (€7.10), wurst (€6) with mustard, along with several salads in summer. Open daily. Laurin Via Laurin 4 T 0471.311.000. Laidback gourmet restaurant in the garden of Parkhotel Laurin, using prime ingredients from throughout the Italian peninsula, and inspiration from around the world, though the emphasis remains Mediterranean. The menu changes monthly, but you might find spaghetti dressed with burrata (Puglian mozzarella filled with cream; €14) and cherry tomato compote, or lemon tagliolini with Sicilian prawns and sea asparagus (€16). Secondi could include a saddle of veal with truffle
and fried quails’ egg (€27) or Atlantic turbot with lemon, broccoli and bottarga (€29). Desserts range from the traditional (a fabulous apple strudel with caramel and rosemary ice cream for €11) to the exotic (coconut, mango and tapioca mousse served with a passion-fruit jelly and chill-saffron ice cream, €11). Closed Sunday lunch. Oca Bianca Piazza delle Erbe 24 T 0471.300.054. Seasonally changing local delicacies such as horse carpaccio with wild mushrooms, and ravioli with duck-prosciutto. The pasta is all home-made, and there is great fish and seafood and a good choice of regional Italian wines. Expect to pay around €30 a head. Closed Sun. Vögele Goethestrasse 3 T0471.923.938. Vögele’s outdoor tables under a portico, and big oak tables with candles in the wood-panelled interior make it a popular place to sample local wines and delicacies, along with fresh fish and dishes from further afield. A mixed fish antipasti of scallops, mussels and smoked fish (€13), makes for a nice light lunch, or go for something heartier such as canederli in broth (€5) or grilled scamorza cheese with stir-fried veg and chilli sauce (€10.50). Closed Sun and June 20–July 10. Zur Kaiserkron Piazza di Mostra/Musterplatz 1 T0471.980.214. Fine dining with refined
| Bolzano (Bozen)
If you’re just after a lunchtime snack, try wurstel and apfel strudel, both available from stalls on Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza del Grano and Via Stazione. Piazza delle Erbe is also full of stalls selling local cheeses, hams, breads, and fabulous fruit and salads, with no shortage of exuberant bars and cafés selling beer and cheap food. As for nightlife, Bolzano is a city with a Northern soul, with heavy drinking and partying far more the norm than in other Italian cities. There are pubs aplenty, with Friday- and Saturday-night crowds spilling out onto the street; for a local aperitif, ask for a Veneziana (Aperol, champagne or prosecco, ice and a slice of lemon). It’s worth noting that despite being a tourist destination, Bolzano practically closes down on Sunday, most supermarkets included.
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Appropriately for a bilingual area (or trilingual if you include the Ladin tongue) the theme “art and language” is central to the works in the permanent collection, with two thousand pieces in the area of art that lies between images and words. A new bridge leads from behind the huge steel-and-glass cube of the museum across the River Talvera (Talfer); a riverside walk upstream brings you to the older Ponte Talvera where Bolzano’s German and Gothic quarter ends and Piazza della Vittoria signals the edge of the new part of town, much of it laid out by Mussolini’s favourite architect, Marcello Piacentini. The epic triumphal arch (1928) on the square is something of a controversial monument, not least due to its inscription: “Here is the border of the Motherland. Set the banners down. From this point on we educated others with language, law and culture.” Until a recent cleanup, it was covered with graffiti and surrounded by low railings, and was even bombed by German-speaking separatists in the late 1980s. The piazza is now the site of a big general market on Saturdays.
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regional and international food in a Baroque, former merchant’s palace, or outside on the quiet elegant piazza. The menu changes constantly, but fixtures include the antipasto of speck and lamb prosciutto (€9), and a succulent tagliata of ox-steak. Other dishes could include an orzotto (like risotto but made with barley) with porcini and wild mushrooms (€12), free-range chicken roasted with potatoes and rosemary (€16) or venison with juniper and black pepper served with celeriac puree and an apple, speck and Savoy-cabbage mousse. Closed Sun.
Cafés and bars
| Bolzano (Bozen)
Fischbanke Via D. Streite 26/A T 0471.971.714. Laidback wine bar on the road running parallel with Via dei Portici, where you sip your Chardonnay at marble counters that once made up the city’s fish market – hence the name. The enthusiastic owner makes for a good vibe, and you can snack on salads and bruschettas piled high with local produce. Closed Sun. Forsterbräu Central Goethestrasse 6 T0471.977.243. Good beer including the strong Sixtus ale as well as reasonably priced food such
as ravioli stuffed with radicchio and dressed with melted butter and cheese (€8). Outside tables where you can enjoy the evening breeze. Open daily. Lounge Exil Café Piazza della Grano 2/A T0471.971.814. Relaxed young urban hangout in a cosmopolitan industrial-style café. Come for a late breakfast, lunch, an aperitif or just to drink. Closed Sun. Nadamas Piazza Erbe 44 T0471.980.684. Funky, bustling bar-restaurant serving a huge variety of snacks and cocktails accompanied by predominantly Latin American tunes. Food ranges from Thai rice with chicken (€12) to thrice-weekly tapas (Mon, Thurs, Sat). Closed Sun. Stadt Café Piazza Walther. Alluring, grand café in which the owner’s southern origins are evident in the artisanal fizzy drinks such as the Lurisia brand of gazzosa (made with Amalfi lemons) and chinotto (made with real chinotto, a rare citrus fruit), along with organic Sicilian honeys, as well as magnificent Austrian-influenced cakes, such as sachertorte, apple strudel, and a cake made with buckwheat flour and berries). Also a wide selection of breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes, and seats outside on Piazza Walther.
Listings Airport Aeroporto Bolzano Dolomiti T0471.255.255, Wwww.abd-airport.it. Handles Alitalia flights to Rome and Olbia, and seasonal charters. Bike hire Bikes available to rent from a scheme run by the Comune from a stand on Via della Stazione. €1 for up to 6 hours, €5 per day. Bikes have to be returned to stands (throughout the city) by 7.50pm, and you need your passport to register. Car rental Hertz: airport T0471.254.266; Maggiore Via Garibaldi 2 T 0471.971.531. Hospital Ospedale Centrale di Bolzano, Via Lorenz Böhler 5 T0471.908.111. In emergency call T118. Internet Multikulti, Via Doctor Streiter 9. Cheerless but open daily 10am–10pm.
Parking Parcheggio, Piazza Walther; Central Parking, Piazza Stazione; Bolzano Centro, Via Mayr-Nusser. €1.70 per hour. Pharmacies Don Bosco, Don Bosco Platz 6/B T0471.915.239; Paris, Florenzstrasse 56 T0471.917.384; Gires, Telser Durchgang 8 T0471.285.096. Police station Via Marconi 23 T 0471.997.788 or 947.680. Post office Piazza Parrocchia/Pfarrplatz 13 T0471.322.211. Mon–Fri 8am–6.30pm, Sat 8am–12 noon. Taxis Radio Taxi T0471.981.111.
Around Bolzano
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A trip up in any of Bolzano’s three cable cars gives a small taste of the high peaks that surround the city. The first (open all year dawn to dusk; every 4min; journey time 12min) ascends from Via Renòn (Rittnerstrasse), a ten-minute walk from the train station, to Soprabolzano (Oberbozen). It’s the longest cable-car journey in Europe, with the largest change in height. Alternatively the San Genesio/Jenesien cable-car ride offers stupendous views of the Catinaccio/Rosengarten massif – the station is at Via Sarentino (9.30am–4.30pm every 30min), 1.5km north of the town centre along the river (bus #12 or #14 on Sun). On the high alpine pastures at the top, you’ll see blond-maned Haflinger horses grazing. The third cable-car goes to Colle/Kohlern (7am–7pm every 30min) from the station across the river
Val Sarentino and the TrekkingBus
| Bolzano (Bozen)
To the east of Bolzano, beyond Castle Roncolo is the splendid Val Sarentino. Starting out as a narrow gorge with castles and fortified farmhouses fused to rocks above a torrential river, it broadens out into an expansive verdant valley of manicured alpine meadows and postcard-perfect wooden chalets encircled by towering mountains, before rising to the bleak heights of the Pennes pass (2211m) from where the road descends to Vipiteno. Weaving through the valley and its mountains are a myriad of trails, well served by rifugi where, as ever, you can eat, or stay. Between late June and the beginning of September the tourist association of the Val Sarentino organizes a weekly programme of minibuses, leaving from the valley’s main settlement, Sarentino, at 9am (coinciding with the regular SAD bus from Bolzano) and returning to Sarentino in time to connect with the 6pm bus back to Bolzano. Each bus goes to one of several trailheads, usually close to a rifugio. The trailheads from which there is the greatest choice of hiking routes are Maso Hollerhof, Maso Obermarcherhof, Rifugio Sarner Skihuette and Passo Pennes. The first three are served by the minibus daily, Passo Pennes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The minibuses have eight seats: if there is no room, you wait 30min until the bus returns to pick you up, or choose a different trailhead. There are also guided walks once a week – currently Wednesday – for which you need to sign up by 6pm the day before, either at the Associazione Turistica Val Sarentino, Via Europa 15 in Sarentino, or by phone (T0471.623.091). Full details can be found on the website Wwww.sarntal. com, or pick up the booklet TrekkingBus from the Associazione or participating rifugi. The valley is well bestowed with places to eat and stay, ranging from the simple to the sophisticated. For good honest mountain hospitality try the cosy Messner Hof (T0471.623.241) at St Valentin, set in a meadow shaded with hazelnut trees overlooked by a twelfth-century frescoed church. There are three basic rooms (€25 per person per night) and a homely restaurant where you can eat carbohydrate-rich local dishes such as canerdeli (breadcrumb and herb dumplings) in broth (€3.50), barley soup (€4) or venison goulash with polenta (€12). If you are in search of more creature comforts, opt for the relaxed, but refined family-run Bad Schoergau (T0471.623048, Wwww .bad-schoergau.com; 5 ), a spa-hotel down in the valley outside Sarentino village, with 25 minimalist rooms. Spa cures include massages with the essence of local dwarf pine, and a decadent honey and milk bath. It is run by three siblings, one of whom, the chef Gregor, is a household name for his regular appearances on the Italian version of Ready Steady Cook. Hotel guests can decide each day whether to eat in the casual bistro, in the guest dining room (with a fixed menu at €29 excluding wine), or in one of two tiny dining rooms where haute cuisine is served (menus from €59–79 excluding wine). The bistro and haute cuisine restaurant are also open to the public.
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south of the train station at Ponte Campiglio. The oldest cable-car ride in the world, it celebrated its centenary in 2008. Bikes whizz at you from all directions in the centre of Bolzano and around 30km of cycle paths circle the city; see p.240 for bike rental. Maps and signs around town point you in the direction of eight different cycle routes. A five-kilometre pedal away is the thirteenth-century Castello Róncolo (Schloss Runkelstein; Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; W www.roncolo.info; €8); also reachable by free shuttle bus from the Piazza Walther (every 30min Tues–Sun, from 10am–6pm) or bus #12 (Mon–Sun) from the station. Inside the castle are probably the best secular frescoes in Europe showing people hunting and dancing, and other scenes from courtly life. Pier Paolo Pasolini filmed some of his Decameron (1971) here (see Contexts, p.1021). In the Sala del Torneo, look out for a fresco showing a fishing party: in the background a noble is offering a fish to a lady – the medieval equivalent of an indecent proposal.
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Just southwest of Bolzano, high above the village of APPIANO (Eppan), a clutch of thirty or so fortresses and castles can be seen from the ruined battlements of Castello Appiano (Schloss Hocheppan; daily except Wed 10.30am–5.30pm; €4; T 0471.936.081, W www.hocheppan.com). In the castle chapel, secular frescoes show women flirting at the altar and one of the earliest representations of the knödel, or dumpling, which still features on many a South Tyrolean menu. One of the most imposing fortresses is Firmiano/Sigmundskron (from first Sun in March till third Sun in Nov Tues–Sun 10am–6pm; T 0471.631.264, W www .messner-mountain-museum.it; €8). Perched on an outcrop of porphyry rock it made a strategic base for the Bishop of Trento in the tenth century before falling into ruin in the sixteenth. It was rescued in 2003 by mountaineer Reinhold Messner, who turned it into the flagship of his group of mountain museums. A trail leads up and through the castle towers that contain a vast collection of paintings, sculptures – and objects such as a huge prayer wheel – celebrating the Himalayas, the Alps and the world’s other high places.
The Wine Road
| Bolzano (Bozen)
Wine enthusiasts are well catered for around Bolzano, with a wine road (Strada del Vino) that enables you to indulge in a happy combination of sightseeing and tastings. The 30km route proper begins at Terlano (Terlan) just north of Bolzano, but you can also join it at Appiano (Eppan) and wend your way through sunny vineyards to Salerno (Salurn) halfway between Bolzano and Trento. This is one of the oldest wine-growing areas of all German-speaking regions – some claim that the tradition goes back to the Iron Age – it’s also one of the smallest in Italy. Certainly, the wine industry was well established in Roman times, with the colonists from down south finding that locally made barrels with metal hoops were much better for transporting wine back to Rome than their clay amphorae. The vines in the region are often strung on wide pergolas, the traditional method of viticulture here, which allows the Ora breeze blowing from Lake Garda to circulate around the grapes, giving a beneficial cooling effect. Others are on hillsides too steep for machinery, so everything still has to be done by hand. The main village on the route is CALDARO (Kaltern), home to many sixteenthcentury buildings in Uberetsch style, combining northern Gothic and southern Renaissance architectural details. Wines from the vineyards around this small village have won numerous awards; one of the best places to taste them is A Punkt (W www.wein.kaltern.com), a wine bar/information point on the main square. Alternatively, three cellars close to the village centre also offer wine tasting – Kellerei Kaltern, Erste Kellerei Kaltern and Neue Kellerei Kaltern (W www .erste-neue.it). Within walking distance, too, on the Wine Road on the way to
Törggelen season
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A good time to sample Alto Adige’s wine is in the autumn during the Törggelen season. This roughly coincides with the arrival of the Neuien – the first bottles of new, young wine – from about the end of September to the beginning of December. It traditionally marks the passage of the year, celebrating a golden time of clear autumnal weather before winter really sets in. Farmers and innkeepers lay on a spread of speck (smoked ham), a bread called schüttelbrot and roast chestnuts, accompanied by wines from the surrounding hills. As well as the village taverns and enotecas along the wine road (see above) try visiting Loosmannhof (T0471.365.551), Località Signato/Signat.
Lake Caldaro, the producer Manincor (W www.manincor.com) is well worth a visit for its combination of modern architecture and traditional estate buildings, as well as tastings of its fine vintages. Another centre to head for is the village of TERMENO (Tramin), from which the varietal Gewürtztraminer gets its name. Here, you could stop at the enoteca of Elena Walch, a star wine-maker in the region.
| Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm)
The grasslands of the Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm), to the east of Bolzano, are Europe’s largest alpine plateau, extending over sixty square kilometres above the rest of the valley bordered by Sciliar (Schlern), a flat-topped, sheer mountain which splits off at one end into two peaks. The lush summer pastures 2000m above sea level are superb for mountain biking and hiking, especially now that the area, protected by the Parco Naturale dello Sciliar, is closed to road traffic (except for guests of hotels on the Alpe) between 9am and 5pm. A bus from Bolzano goes to Siusi (Seis) – you can stash mountain bikes in the luggage compartment of the bus – passing FIÈ AM SCILIAR (Völs am Schlern), famous for inventing the curative “haybath”, presumably only beneficial if you don’t suffer from hayfever. A possible detour involves changing buses at Fiè for Schloss Prösels (Presule): the simple castle (guided tours April–Oct Sun–Fri 10am, 11am, 3pm, 4pm & 5pm; €5; T 0471.601.062, W www.schloss-proesels .it) here was once the seat of the lords of Völs – witch hunters, friends of Emperor Maximilian and owners of the salt mines at Hall near Innsbruck. Alternatively, stay on the bus until Siusi, from where you can ascend to COMPACCIO (Compatsch) on the plateau by a connecting bus service or by cable car (mid-May to mid-Sept 8am–7pm; mid-Sept to early Nov 8am–6pm; €9 one way, €13.50 return; bikes are allowed). Compaccio is the starting point for many excellent day-hikes, such as the two-and-a-half-hour trek to Tierser Alpl or a climb of similar length to Rifugio Bolzano al Monte Pez (see below). You can get the views the easier way by taking the chair lift (€7 return) to Restaurant Bullaccia/ Puflatsch, enjoying a coffee and buchweizentorte (buckwheat and redcurrant cake) when you get there. A shuttle bus (€1) runs to SALTRIA (Saltner), where a smattering of hotels are more or less the only buildings. Here, horses graze on the tough grass, picking their way between the bogs and streams, and the main evidence of human activity is dairy farming and some logging in the woods.
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Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm)
Practicalities There’s a tourist information office (Mon–Fri 8.15am–12.30pm, Sat 8.15am– noon; T 0471.727.904, W www.seiseralm.net) and plenty of accommodation in Compaccio. This hamlet, and Saltria, make peaceful spots to stay, especially when the day-trippers disappear back down to the valley as night draws in, and the teeth of Sasso Lungo (Langkofel) become blunted by cloud. Almgasthof Tirler Saltria T 0471.727.927, W www.tirler.it. One of the better-value hotels in Saltria, with good-sized rooms and friendly service. €70 per person, half-board only. Anemone Seiseralm Compaccio T0471.727.963, W www.anemone-seiseralm.com. A simple hotel
with en-suite rooms and balconies. €60 per person, half-board-only in high season. 2 Rifugio Bolzano al Monte Pez (Schlernhaus) T0471.612.024, Wwww.schlernhaus.it. One of the original alpine huts from the 1880s. Mid-June to early Oct.
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Seiser Alm Urthaler Compaccio T0471.727.919, W www.seiseralm.com. A beautiful hotel constructed in 2002 using sustainable building methods. €162 per person, half-board only.
Tierser Alpl T0471.707.460 or 727.958, Wwww .tierseralpl.com. At 2440m, this cute, red-roofed rifugio has amazing views. Bed only, bed and breakfast and half-board options. June to mid-Oct. 1
Val Gardena (Grödnertal)
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| Northeast of Bolzano
Trails and chair lifts connect the Alpe di Suissi with the Val Gardena (Grödnertal), a valley with plenty of squeaky-clean guesthouses linked by a continuous stream of tourist buses making their way along the Great Dolomites Road to Cortina d’Ampezzo. The main village in the valley, Ortisei (Sankt Ulrich), has for centuries been a big producer of religious sculpture and, more recently, hand-carved wooden toys, with several families each keeping their own particular design going. Three thousand woodcarvers in the valley still make furniture and religious statues, but Ortisei, like the neighbouring villages of Santa Cristina (Sankt Christina) and Selva (Wolkenstein), is now mainly a ski resort, within easy reach of the Sella Ronda, a route of ski-runs and lifts encircling the Sella mountain range that takes a whole day to complete. Buses make the journey back to Bolzano, or you can drive in the other direction towards the Passo di Sella or Passo di Gardena. Not in the Val Gardena itself, but across the Isarco river from Ponte Gardena, the gateway to the valley, is A Pension Briol, at Tre Chiese (Dreikirchen) (T 0471.650.125, W www.briol.it; €82.50 per person, half-board only; April–Oct) above the village of Barbiano (Barbian). It’s a rare example of Bauhaus style in the Alps – nothing much has changed since 1928, when it was designed by artist Hubert Lanzinger. Although there are few mod cons, the simplicity and unspoilt location in flowerfilled meadows are unbeatable.
Northeast of Bolzano The route northeast from Bolzano along the Isarco (Eisacktal) valley is one of the main routes between Italy and northern Europe, crossing the border into Austria at the Brenner Pass (1375m). Protestant reformer Martin Luther was one of many travellers to have walked over the Brenner Pass on his epic journey to Rome in 1510. A motorway and high-speed train line to Innsbruck now make light work of the distance, and the ancient towns of Bressanone (Brixen) and Vipiteno (Sterzing) are engaging places on the way to stretch the legs. Nearby is the wild protected area called the Parco Naturale Fánes-Sénnes-Bráies accessible via the Val Pusteria (Pusertal), a side valley off the Isarco. If you are planning to walk any of the long-distance walking trails known as alte vie (literally “high ways”) you will almost certainly visit the Val Pusteria, as most of the trails kick off from the valley. The best access by public transport is by train: the line branches off the main Bolzano–Innsbruck line at Fortezza (Franzenfeste) and serves the sleepy villages of the Val Pusteria, the market town of Brunico (Bruneck) and Dobbiaco (Toblach; from where there are buses to Cortina d’Ampezzo), terminating at San Candido (Innichen).
Bressanone (Brixen)
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BRESSANONE (Brixen) in the Val d’Isarco is well worth a stop for its medieval old town and good selection of places to stay. The town was an independent state for a thousand years, its bishops in a constant state of rivalry with the neighbouring Counts of Tyrol based in Merano. The bishops’ palace, next to the Duomo, is still the focus of the town.
Arrival, information and accommodation
Bressanone’s tourist office (Mon–Fri 8.30am–12.30pm & 2.30–6pm, Sat 9am– 12.30pm; July & Aug 8.30am–6pm, plus Sat 9am–12.30pm; T 0472.836.401, W www.brixen.org), opposite the bus station, has information on trails around the town and further afield. There are some excellent, inexpensive places to stay in the old town.
The Town
The Duomo (9am–6pm; free) destroyed by fire in the eleventh century and rebuilt in its current Baroque style in the eighteenth, is the most imposing building in the complex: the interesting part lies to the side, in the fantastically ornate cloisters, which were frescoed in the fourteenth century. The cathedral treasury is now kept in the adjacent Museo Diocesano (mid-March to Oct & Dec 1–23, Tues–Sun 10am–5pm; Dec 24–Jan 3 daily 2–5pm; closed Nov and Feb to mid-March; €7; W www.dioezesanmuseum.bz.it). Here you can see vestments belonging to Bressanone’s bishop-princes. Their strong influence in the region is evident from the present given by Emperor Henry II to Bishop Albuino: a tenth-century Byzantine silk cloak, spread with the stylized eagle that was the bishop’s personal emblem. For more secular pleasures, head for the Novacella Monastery (Kloster Neustift; Mon–Sat: summer guided tours hourly 10am–4pm; winter guided tours at 11am & 3pm; €5.50; T 0472.836.189, W www.kloster-neustift.it), 3km away and reachable by bus (at least hourly), which produces well-regarded wine and sells direct to the public. Ask, also, if you can see the beautiful, frescoed medieval cloisters. Just north of the Duomo lies Via Portici Maggiore, where you’ll find a fascinating hotchpotch of shopping arcades and the seventeenth-century Porta de San Michele; this opens onto Via Ponte Aquila, which leads down to the river where there’s a gem of a museum at no. 4/A. The Pharmaziemuseum ( July & Aug Mon–Fri 2–6pm, Sat 11am–4pm; Sept–June Tues & Wed 2–6pm, Sat 11am–4pm; €3.50; T 0472.209.112, W www.pharmazie.it) is located on the second floor (follow the painted snakes) and boasts a weird and wonderful selection of antique vials and pillboxes, pharmaceutical apparatus, and sumptuously illustrated medical manuals from the late sixteenth century.
| Northeast of Bolzano
Löwenhof Via Lago di Varna 60 T0472.836.216, Wwww.loewenhof.it. Hotel and campsite complex, with a large outdoor swimming pool, in meadowland 2km north of Bressanone in Varna (Vahrn); several buses travel here on weekdays, fewer at weekends. Campsite closed Nov–March. €9.50 per person, €8 per tent. 3 Mayrhofer Via Tratten 17 T0472.836.327, Wwww .mayrhofer.it. Small, family-run guesthouse with 12 rooms in the old town with a secluded garden. Guests have free entry to the Acquarena pools. 2 Tallero Via Mercato Vecchio 35 T0472.830.577, W www.tallero.it. An excellent, stylish three-star hotel in the old town. Free access to the Acquarena pools. 3
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Elephant Via Rio Bianco 4 T 0472.832.750, W www.hotelelephant.com. One of the longestestablished grand hotels in the Dolomites (with an elephant statue above a pond in its grounds) furnished in elegant Tyrolean style, with a good restaurant (see p.246). 5 Goldene Krone Via Fienili 4 T 0472.835.154, W www.goldenekrone.com. A relatively new, upmarket hotel with an emphasis on light cuisine and well-being. They organize hiking tours, cycling and motorbiking excursions, and have a great spa. Though there is no swimming pool on site, guests have access to state-of-the art facilities at the nearby Acquarena pools. 4
Eating and drinking
The best restaurants in town are Finsterwirt at Vicolo del Duomo 3 (T 0472.835.343; closed Sun eve & Mon), serving excellent local specialities including (in season) buckwheat pasta filled with lamb and wild mushrooms
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(€13); they also have a good wine list. Otherwise the restaurant and enoteca at the Elephant hotel (T 0472.836.579; closed Thurs mid-March to July, and all Nov & Feb) dishes up expertly prepared regional cuisine. For picnics, try the wonderful array of food shops in the old arcades or the Monday market on Via Brennero; alternatively grab a slice of freshly made pizza from Pizza da Nando on Via Fienili.
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| Northeast of Bolzano
The entrance to the Val Pusteria (Pusertal), a wide valley of maize fields and hay meadows skirting the northern edge of the Dolomites, lies 4km north of Bressanone. This is a sleepy rural area: in the side valleys dippers dart in and out of the streams and the sawing of timber cuts through the air. Higher up, you’re likely to see marmots – timid creatures similar to guinea pigs – or more likely hear them, as they give out a piercing whistle as a warning before speeding off to their burrows; on the screecovered slopes, chamois betray their presence with a tumbling of stones. The valley is served by bus from Brunico (Bruneck), and by train from Fortezza (Franzensfeste). Many of the long-distance alte vie footpaths start in the Val Pusteria: Alta Via 1 starts from Lago di Bráies (Pragser Wildsee), Alta Via 3 from Villabassa (Niederdorf ), Alta Via 4 from San Cándido (Innichen) and Alta Via 5 from Sesto (Sexten).
Brunico (Bruneck) An influx of people from the surrounding villages arrives daily in the otherwise sleepy market town of BRUNICO (Bruneck), which is also the transport centre of the region. Brunico was the home of the painter and sculptor Michael Pacher (c.1435–98); his Vine Madonna is in the parish church of the village of San Lorenzo, 4km southwest of town. Pacher is probably the most famous Tyrolean painter and woodcarver, straddling German Gothic and the more spare Italian styles; there’s something vaguely unsavoury about this particular Madonna and her pudgy child, gripping a bunch of black grapes, but it’s refreshing to see work in its original setting rather than in a museum. The Brunico tourist office, Rathausplatz 7 ( July & Aug Mon–Fri 9am–7pm, Sat 9.30am–1.30pm & 3–6pm; Sept–June Mon–Fri 9am–12.30pm & 3–6pm, Sat 9.30am–12.30pm; T 0474.555.722, W www.bruneck.com), has details of places to stay. A comfortable option is the Andreas Hofer, Via Campo Tures 1 (T 0474.551.469, W www.andreashofer.it; 4 ). The nearest campsite is Camping Schiesstand, Via Dobbiaco 4 (T 0474.401.326; May–Sept; €5.50 per person, €3 per tent, €3 per car), and there’s a youth hostel in the Val di Tures 4.5km from Brunico called the Holiday House Thalackerhof, Thalackerweg 12, St Georgen (T 0474.550.187, W www.thalackerhof.it; dorm beds €14). Further up the same small valley at CAMPO TURES (Sand In Taufers) is the wonderfully evocative medieval castle, Schloss Taufers (daily 10am–5pm; T 0474.678.053; closed Nov; €5). The dungeons boast a gruesome array of torture instruments, but the most appealing aspect of the castle is its setting: stark grey walls, bristling with towers, stand in contrast to the glistening backdrop of the Zillertal glaciers.
Parco Naturale Fánes-Sénnes-Bráies
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For dramatic mountain vistas and not-too-crowded paths – plus an insight into some of the Ladin legends – head for the Parco Naturale Fánes-Sénnes-Bráies, souteast of Brunico. If you have a limited amount of time to spend in this beautiful protected area, you should aim for the upper slopes of Alpe di Fánes, where you pick up some of the best ridgeway paths. San Vigilio di Marebbe is reachable by bus from Brunico via Longega (Zwischenwasser) and from here A Rifugio Fánes
Situated on the busy main road leading north over the Brenner Pass to Innsbruck is VIPITENO (Sterzing). This close to the Austrian border, it’s hardly surprising that much of Vipiteno is typically Tyrolean, with geranium-filled balconies and wood-panelled old inns. The porticoed main street, however, Via Città Nuova (Neustadtstrasse), is more reminiscent of places further south, lined with elegant, battlemented palazzi erected in Renaissance times by a locally based Florentine bank. At one end, the Zwölferturm clocktower divides the old town from the new: the roof was rebuilt in 1867 after fire destroyed the fifteenth-century original. The town is especially pretty on summer nights when it’s lit by lanterns and there’s often a local festival, with live music and foodie specialities. The tourist office at Piazza Città 3 (Mon–Sat 8.30am–noon & 2.30–6pm, open Sunday in high season; T 0472.765.325, W www.vipiteno.com) will tell you when these special events take place.
| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around
Vipiteno (Sterzing)
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(T 0474.501.097, W www.rifugiofanes.com; late Dec to mid-April 30 & early June to end of Oct) will pick you up in their jeep (€10 per person) to make the ascent to the refuge which stands at 2000m. This has rooms a cut above the usual refuge accommodation, good food, a great atmosphere and is altogether a very nice place to stay. Footpaths cross the grassy plateaus, passing the rocks of Castel de Fánes, home of Dolasilla, the mythical princess of the Ladini, and an area called the Marmot Parliament. The lakes are fed by underground streams, which you can sometimes hear, burbling deep beneath your feet. Another way to see the park (although you’ll come across many other hikers doing the same) is to walk the section of Alta Via 1 that runs through it, a hike which takes three to four days, with overnight stops at refuges. The trail starts at Lago di Bráies (Pragser Wildsee), a deep-green lake surrounded by pines, 8km off the main road through the Val Pusteria – an extraordinary place (according to legend, the lake is a gateway to an underground kingdom). Several buses go to the lake from Dobbiaco. Also accessible from Brunico by cable car (end June to early Oct; €12 return) is the Plan de Corones, surrounded by jagged peaks. Here, legend has it, Dolasilla was crowned as a warrior princess at the top of the mountain with the raiëta – a crystal that harnessed powerful forces.
Cortina d’Ampezzo and around Dubbed the ”Pearl of the Dolomites”, CORTINA D’AMPEZZO is well and truly part of the mountains of Trentino-Alto Adige, even though it officially belongs to the Veneto region next door. An upmarket ski resort – think an Italian St Moritz – Cortina boasts a gorgeous setting, surrounded by a great circle of mountains, and it’s had a starring role in many films, including The Pink Panther and For Your Eyes Only. After hosting the Winter Olympics in 1956, Cortina swiftly became the resort to be seen in and in the 1960s you were as just as likely to spot movie stars such as Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren sauntering down the Corso Italia as people in ski boots. Nowadays, the VIPs it attracts tend to be titans of Italian industry – the Agnellis, Benetton, Barilla and the president of Ferrari all frequent the resort – and the population swells from 7000 to around 40,000 during the ski season (roughly Christmas to Easter) although many of the fur-clad crowds packing out the art galleries, designer boutiques and antiques shops are unashamedly here for the pose factor rather than the skiing.
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| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around 248
As you might guess, Cortina is a difficult place to do on a tight budget – taking a sleigh down the mountain after a meal at a glamorous restaurant, or renting a helicopter for off-piste skiing don’t come cheap – but you can do your wallet a favour by avoiding the Christmas–New Year period. There is also a subdued summer hiking season, between July and September when the cable-car system operates. Extreme-sports fans may enjoy a visit to the Pista Olimpica di Bob, built for the Olympics, which now plays host to the Cortina Adrenalin Center (T 0436.860.808, W www.adrenalincenter.it), offering bobsleighing, skiing and night-sledging in winter and rafting, hydrospeeding, kayaking, mountain biking and more in summer. They also run two high-ropes courses for grown-ups, at Cortina and at Cibiana, and a kids’ adventure playground at Cortina.
Arrival and information Express bus services run by Cortina Express (W www.cortinaexpress.it) run to Cortina from Venezia airport and Mestre train station, as well as Bologna bus station during the ski season. There are also several public buses from Dobbiaco (Toblach) each day. The bus station is on Via Marconi, above town. The nearest train station is Calalzo di Cadore, 32km east; a bus timed to meet train arrivals runs up to Cortina. Cortina’s tourist office is at Piazzetta San Francesco 8 (daily 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–6.30pm; T 0436.3231, W www.infodolomiti.it). Several places in town rent out bikes – the cheapest is Cicli Cortina on Via Majon 148 (T 0436.867.215; €6/hr, €18/day). Internet facilities are available at Radiofonica Piller at Via C. Battisti 43 (T 0436.2284).
Accommodation Not surprisingly, staying in Cortina is comparatively expensive and prices climb exponentially during the peak ski season and in August. The tourist office has a list of rooms to rent, and in summer there’s the option of camping at one of several well-equipped sites, all with bar and shop. Try Olympia, 5km north at Fiames (T 0436.5057, W www.campingolympiacortina.it; €10 per tent including car, plus €8 per person), which is open all year round and has a pool; prices are the same at Rocchetta, 2km south of Cortina at Campo di Sopra (T 0436.5063, W www .campingrocchetta.it). Astoria Largo della Poste 11 T0436.2525, Wwww.cortina.dolomiti.org/hotelastoria. A B&B with seven rooms, old-fashioned but comfortable, with an appealing guest lounge. Closed Oct and Nov. 5 Hotel Cristallo Via Menardi 42 T0436.881.111, Wwww.cristallo.it. For the full-on Cortina experience, this palatial hotel is the place, located in the foothills above the town, with tremendous views, and luxury most can only dream of, such as one’s own private butler, or transfer by helicopter. The spa is magnificent and there is a heated indoor pool and a 9-hole golf course. Rooms and public areas are sumptuous and classic, rather than contemporary. Check the website for offers, such as a five-day spa package for €790 per person, including half-board and a spa treatment. 9 Hotel de La Poste Piazza Roma 14 T 0436.4271, W www.delaposte.it. One of Cortina’s classic hotels. The location – on the square opposite the church – could not be more central, and the rooms
are plush and chintzy. One of the highlights is the bar – barman Antonio di Franco is a legend who has been shaking cocktails at La Poste for 46 years, and has invented cocktails for many of the famous people who stay at the hotel. 8 Menardi Via Majon 110 T 0436.2400, Wwww.hotelmenardi.it. An old country house, this family-run hotel is 1km from town, set in gorgeous – and extensive – grounds. There are rooms in a modern annexe as well as in the original house, and facilities include a jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish baths, and an elegant restaurant. Closed Oct, Nov, and mid-May till last weekend in May. Prices halve in low season. 5 Montana Corso Italia 94 T0436.860.498, W www.cortina-hotel.com. This small alpine hotel dating from 1927 has a great location in the pedestrianized streets right in the heart of Cortina, and rather simple, plain rooms. Great breakfasts with hot chocolate in winter. Bike storage. 5
Eating and drinking Eating choices vary from lively bars offering great snacks to romantic mountain restaurants; several good cafés also serve simple but tasty local dishes. Ai Due Forni at Via C. Battisti 18 is a decent pizza place with takeaway by the slice, while the Croda Caffè at the beginning of Corso Italia is a relaxed (and always busy) place for a sit-down pizza. There is also an excellent Co-op supermarket (closed Sun except in high season) on Corso Italia in the centre of town.
| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around
(home-made dumplings with tomato and Sardinian salami sauce), spaghetti with bottarga (salted tuna roe) or puligioni (ravioli stuffed with ricotta and orange peel, served with butter and basil). Closed Tues in low season. Prosciutteria LP26 Largo delle Poste 26 T0436.862.284. A café by day and wine bar/ restaurant with a good buzz at night. As the name suggests, prosciutto is its speciality – a plate of mixed pig, wild boar and venison hams (€9.50) is a good way to sample them – but there are also tasty pasta dishes, notably tortellini filled with prosciutto and aged parmesan (€8). Also a nice place for breakfast (good pastries) or an aperitivo. Live music most Saturdays in season. Closed Mon in low season. Rifugio Scoiattoli Cinque Torri T 333.814.6960. Splendid place on the Montagna Cinque Torri right opposite the exit from the ski lift: you go up by the Cinque Torri ski lift (15min drive outside town along the road to Passo Falzarego; bus #30) and in winter you can descend, if you wish, by sledge. The food is a cut above that of most rifugi: specialities include violetti, hand-made pasta coloured with blueberries and served with porcini mushrooms and pine nuts (€9). Open daily mid-June to mid-Sept and mid-Nov to just after Easter.
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Baita Fraina Via Fraina 2 T 0436.3634. Ten minutes from the centre in the hamlet of Fraina to the east of town, this baita has been in the same family for over forty years and serves typical quality Ampezzana fare, backed up by a huge wine list. There are excellent soups all at €9 – barley and spelt, artichoke, leak and potato, lettuce, mushroom or pumpkin, depending on the season – while pasta dishes include ricotta gnocchi with vegetables (€11), and tagliolini with a venison ragù (€11). Also has six simple rooms. Open daily mid-June to Sept & Dec to mid-April. Bar Dolomiti Via Roma 50. A perfect café for people-watching on the main pedestrian highstreet, while you indulge in excellent cornetti alla crema. Open daily. Lago Ghedina 5km west of the village T 0436.860.876. A restaurant in a magical setting next to a lake that reflects the Dolomite mountains, surrounded by tall firs. It is owned by Romans, so the food is a bit different from most other places hereabouts – grilled meats and fresh river trout (€18). Open daily. Leone e Anna 2km out of town at Localita Alverà 112 T 0436.2768. Perfectly executed, though expensive, Sardinian cuisine in a great chalet atmosphere. Try malureddus
Around Cortina Switchback roads and one high mountain pass after another make for some gripping driving into and out of Cortina. One route that presents a challenge to groups of cyclists, motorcyclists and tourist buses alike is the journey between Bolzano and Cortina which has been dubbed the Great Dolomites Road – the views from the high passes are unforgettable. Near Cortina is one of the most famous sights of the whole of the Dolomites: the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, three extraordinary mountain peaks to the northeast of the city that are the subject of many a holiday snap. Buses from the city travel there in summer, and there’s also a service to the small lake at Misurina, another popular beauty spot. It’s not all about the great outdoors, however: fans of the painter Titian may want to head south by bus from Cortina towards Belluno in the Veneto to his home town of PIEVE DI CADORE, with many paintings attributed to him and his family in the local church. The one most likely to be authentic is in the third chapel on the left; check out too the altarpiece of The Last Supper, by his cousin Cesare. Titian’s birthplace is represented by a stone and wood house on
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Via Arsenale (late June to mid-Sept Tues–Sun 10am–12.30pm & 3–7pm; rest of year call to book T 0435.32.262; €2). Although it has been equipped with furniture and a fireplace from the fifteenth century, the present structure dates from the 1800s. Among the handful of cafés and bars, Caffè Tiziano (closed Mon), in the vaults of the old Palazzo della Magnifica Comunità Cadorina is a popular meeting point and offers snacks, great cocktails and pool on full-size tables. The tourist office is at Piazza Municipio 17 (daily 9am–12.30pm & 3.30–6.30pm; T 0435.31.644). TRE NTI NO-ALTO ADI GE
Alleghe and Monte Civetta
| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around
Without your own vehicle, it can be difficult to reach the most interesting mountains in these parts. One place you can get to by bus (from Belluno) is the small village of ALLEGHE. The lake here was created after a huge rock avalanche in the eighteenth century – a common occurrence in the area. Now a peaceful summer and winter resort, Alleghe borders the northeastern edge of the lake, its aquamarine waters reflecting the pine forests around. Towering above is Monte Civetta (or Owl Mountain), essentially Alleghe’s main attraction, and if you’re lucky enough to be at Lago Coldai next to Rifugio Coldai (T 0437.789.160; late June to mid-Sept) on a clear evening, you get the most wonderful views of the great rock wall of Civetta glowing red in the sunset. You can walk up to the refuge from the valley (4hr & 1156m of ascent), or take the cable car from Alleghe to Piani di Pezze, and the chair lift from there to Col dei Baldi ( June 21–Sept 14 daily 8.30am–5.30pm; €10 return; T 0437.523.544). Hardened hikers may want to stay overnight at the refuge and start a big walk along Alta Via 1 next day. The trail crosses small snowfields, passing windows in the rock that offer dizzying glimpses of the valley and the Dolomite groups. A couple of hours from Coldai, Rifugio Tissi is perched improbably on an incline, on a vast slab of rock, and is cheerfully shambolic, with accommodation available (T 0437.721.644; mid-June to mid-Sept). From here you can continue on Alta Via 1, past Rifugio Vazzoler down to Listolade in the valley (5hr; hourly buses to Alleghe), or head straight down the steep trail 563 for three hours to Masare (a 20min walk from Alleghe), dipping your feet in a waterfall on the way. For refuelling in Alleghe, Enoteca Alleghe on Piazza J.F. Kennedy (T 0437.523.410; closed Tues) is a great wine-bar with over 350 Italian wines to choose from as well as reasonably priced local cheeses, hams and salamis. Don’t miss, too, the cakes and strudel at the pasticceria on the same square.
Merano and around
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MERANO (Meran), an hour north by train from Bolzano, lies in a beautiful, wide part of the Adige (Etsch) valley. Neat apple orchards and vineyards cover almost every square inch of the lower slopes and valley floor, but when you look upwards the scale changes due to the two great mountain ranges – the Ortles (Ortler) and the Giogáia di Tessa (Texelgruppe) encircling the town. Closer geographically and in looks to the Swiss and Austrian Alps than the Dolomites, the grandeur of the landscape turns up a notch here – and a simple event like a summer storm becomes a drama, with the whole valley reverberating to the rumble of thunder. A civilized spa town, comfortably weaving its centuries-old traditions with the contemporary pleasures of shopping and a stylish new spa, Merano has a mild climate that attracted Central Europeans at the beginning of the last century after Empress Elizabeth of Austria – known as Sissi – chose the town for her winter cure. A resort of fin-de-siècle hotels, neat gardens and promenades evolved.
Arrival, information and accommodation Buses arrive and depart directly outside Merano’s train station on Piazza Stazione, ten minutes’ walk from the centre of town. The tourist office is at Corso Libertà 45 ( Jan & Feb Mon–Fri 9am–12.30pm & 2–6.30pm, Sat 9.30am–12.30pm; late March–Sept Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–4pm, Sun 10am–12.30pm; Oct– Dec Mon–Fri 9am–12.30pm & 2–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm, Sun 10.30am–4pm; T 0473.272.000, W www.meran.eu). Hotels
right on the river; most of the rooms have balconies. 4
Hostel
The Town Merano’s old nucleus is Via dei Portici, running west from the Gothic Duomo and fifteenth-century castle and crisscrossed by shopping streets. On the river’s south bank is Merano’s impressive new spa complex Therme Meran (daily 9am–10pm; €17 for a day-ticket for the inside and outdoor pools, €23 for pools plus sauna; supplement of €2 or €3 at weekends; W www.thermemeran.it) with no less than thirteen indoor pools and a “snow room”, all inside a huge steeland-glass cube designed by architect Matteo Thun. There is a wide range of treatments, and you can leave kids aged between 2 and 10 in the Spazio Bimbi for supervised activities (Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–6pm; free). Outside there is a bistro (see p.252). Within the Trauttmansdorff botanical gardens at Via Valentino 51 (daily: mid-March to mid-Nov 9am–6pm; mid-May to mid-Sept 9am–9pm; €10.20, €5 after 6pm; W www.trauttmansdorff.it) is the fascinating and fun Touriseum (Museum of Tourism; same hours as gardens). This delves into the relationship between political events, social change and the rise of tourism in the South Tyrol over the past couple of centuries through some really entertaining and imaginative displays. In summer, bands perform in the gardens and twice-weekly classical concerts are held in other venues around town. If you’re here on Easter Monday, head for the hippodrome to the south of the centre, where Tyrolean musicians astride huge blond-maned Haflinger horses parade around the stadium. The grape fest in the third week of October is another lively event.
| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around
Ostello della Gioventù Carduccistrasse 77 T0473.201.475, W www.jugendherberge.it. Merano’s youth hostel is a 10min walk from the station. There are some en-suite rooms, a laundry and TV room, a workshop for bicycle repairs, skis and bikes to rent and baby-changing facilities. Dorm beds are €20 per night, with a €2 surcharge for staying just one night.
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Castel Fragsburg T 0473.244.071, Wwww.fragsburg.com. This former hunting lodge perched on a mountainside above the city has dramatically styled rooms, excellent food, a spa and tremendous views – especially from the outdoor pool. Prices for the standard doubles are surprisingly low. 5 Tyrol Via XXX Aprile 8 T 0473.449.719. Quiet hotel with a garden, close to the train station. 2 Westend Speckbacherstrasse 9 T 0473.447.654, W www.westend.it. Charming hotel set in gardens
Eating and drinking The best place to eat in town is the expensive Sissi, at Galileistrasse 44 (T 0473.231.062), where renowned Italian chef Andrea Fenoglio puts a sophisticated twist on traditional Alpine and Mediterranean dishes. This is a place to splash out, and the best way to experience what Fenoglio has to offer is to opt for the “8 piatti” menu (€90) – eight courses, selected by the chef daily to capitalize on the best of the day’s ingredients.
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| Cortina d’Ampezzo and around 252
For simpler fare in a contemporary setting, the Bistro (summer daily 9am–11pm, closes at 7pm in winter; hot food from noon–2.30pm year round, and also from 7pm–10pm in summer) belonging to the spa, is a pleasant place to sit and watch life pass by, and people cavorting in the outdoor pools below, while eating some excellent dishes: tagliatelle scented with dwarf pine dressed with pumpkin and speck (€9) or a simple (and huge) salad of spanking fresh mixed leaves with local prosciutto and melon (€11). More traditional, but good nonetheless, is Weinstube Haisrainer, Via dei Portici 100 (T 0473.237944; closed Sun), serving gutsy Italian and Tyrolean dishes, such as smoked roast pork (€15). For information on group hikes visit the Club Alpino Italiano office, Via Carlo Wolff 15 (Mon–Thurs 10am–noon, Thurs also 7–8.30pm; T 0473.448.944, W www.caimerano.it), or Merano’s Alpine association, the Alpenverein Südtirol, at Galileistrasse 45 (hours variable; T 0473.237.134, W www.alpenverein.it).
Around Merano On the northern outskirts of Merano is the twelfth-century Castel Tirolo (mid-March to end Nov Tues–Sun 10am–5pm, Aug until 6pm; T 0473.220.221, W www.schlosstirol.it; €6, guide an extra €2). Such was the infuence of its owners, the Counts of Tirol, that the whole Tyrol region takes its name from here. The castle itself is worth visiting for its museum on daily life in the Middle Ages. Below it is Brunnenburg, a neo-Gothic pile that’s all fishtail battlements and conical towers, where American poet Ezra Pound spent the last years of his life. San Leonardo (Sankt Leonhard), some 20km beyond (but more easily reached from Bressanone), is the birthplace of Andreas Hofer. Originally an innkeeper, wine merchant and cattle dealer, Hofer fought for the Tyrol’s return to Austria after it had been ceded to Bavaria in 1805, becoming a hero of the people after successful uprisings against occupying Bavarian and Napoleonic troops. However, larger political forces overtook him and Hofer was arrested in 1810 and executed under Napoleon’s orders in Mantua. There’s a small Hofer museum (March–Nov Tues– Sun 10am–6pm; W www.museum.passeier.it; €7) at Passeierstr. 72 in his birthplace. Val d’Ultimo (Ultental)
A traditional place of hiding in an area renowned for mountain warfare, the Val d’Ultimo (Ultental) stayed relatively isolated and closed to outsiders until the last century. The road into the valley begins its ascent just south of Merano at LANA. A fifteen-minute cable-car ride from Lana brings you to the unique spa resort of A Vigilius (T 0473.556.600, W www.vigilius.it; 8), a contemporary low-slung grid of wood and glass wrapped around the mountainside of Monte San Vigilio (Vigiljoch) which may treat you to the surreal sight of hikers tramping past guests lolling in the steam bath or taking the air in their bathrobes. Vigilius is not simply the quintessential hip hotel, but has won awards for energy efficiency and eco-innovations including an innovative woodchip-fuelled heating system that provides an income for local foresters. Rooms are minimalist, fittings and fabrics toning with the larch-wood floors and walls, leaving the encircling mountains to provide the drama. There’s the usual sauna, Turkish bath and pool, along with a myriad trendy cures, including an apple and polenta peel, and apple and rosehip oil massage. Hiking is organized in summer, along with sports such as archery; in winter there is skiing, snowshoe hiking, tobogganing and ice-skating on a nearby lake. It has two restaurants, both open to non-residents – though understandably most opt for the simpler Stube Ida where you can eat refined renderings of local dishes such as carne salada with rocket and parmesan (€14) and schnitzel with potatoes and cranberries (€18).
Buses from Merano and Lana travel deep into the Val d’Ultimo, flanked by lush green pastures and ancient larches, terminating at the village of SANTA GERTRUDE (Sankt Gertraud), from where trails (3hr) lead over rock-strewn moorland to Rifugio Canziani aka Höchster Hütte (T 0473.798.120; mid-June to mid-Oct), surrounded by the glaciers and peaks of Gioveretto (Zufrittspitze). If you’re feeling less energetic, the valley is still a good place for some shorter walks, using the village as base. Utnerhof, Hauptstrasse 114 (T 0473.798.117; 2 –3 ), is one of a handful of hotels in the village.
Arrival and information The key point of access to the park is the Val Venosta (Vinschgau), served by trains from Merano, with bus services into the side valleys of Martello, Trafoi and Solda. It also provides the main route for traffic from the Adige valley to Switzerland. A private train service runs every thirty minutes between Merano and Málles (Mals) and gives access to several villages along the valley, connecting with local bus services. (Note, if you’re cycling, that you can take push bikes on the train for free.) For general information on the area visit W www.parks.it/parco .nazionale.stelvio or www.valvenosta-vinschgau.it. The most useful tourist offices are in Silandro (see p.255) and Solda (see p.255).
| Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
The Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio (or the Stilfser National Park) is one of Italy’s major national parks: it extends north to the Swiss Engadine and southwest into Lombardy and covers the whole Ortles (Ortler) mountain range. The park is topped by one of Europe’s largest glaciers (the Ghiacciaio dei Forni) and crossed by the Passo dello Stelvio (2758m), which misses being the highest pass in the Alps by just twelve metres. Ski tourism has made its mark, and the park is as crisscrossed by lifts as anywhere in the Alps, but it’s still a remarkable place. People come here for the high trails and glacier skiing in summer, or for the chance of seeing wildlife such as the red and roe deer, elk, chamois, golden eagle and ibex.
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Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
Accommodation As well as the smattering of mountain refuges offering accommodation, Trafoi and Solda make good bases to stay – both have a large range of accommodation. Trafoi
Solda
Hotel Bella Vista T 0473.611.716, W www.bella-vista.it. On the road up to the Stelvio Pass, this stylish hotel is the home of Olympic gold-medal-winning skiier Gustav Thöni. The hotel has large, Scandinavianstyle rooms, most with balconies, as well as a sauna and Turkish bath. Half-board €67 in high season. 3 Tuckett T 0473.611.722, Wwww.gasthof-tuckett .com. This chalet-style pensione on the main road in the tiny settlement of Trafoi is a simpler alternative to the Bella Vista, with reasonably priced rooms with balconies. 2
Garni des Alpes T 0473.613.062, Wwww.garnidesalpes.com. A 10min walk away from the centre, in the upper part of town, this guesthouse offers modern rooms and the services of a resident climbing/skiing guide. 2 Ortlerhof T0473.613.052, Wwww.ortlerhof-sulden .com. The first hotel on the way into Solda; B&B accommodation in an en-suite room with balcony; May–Sept; minimum stay three days. 1 Paulmichl T0473.613.064, W www.pension paulmichl.com. A simple hotel, right next to the tourist office in Solda’s lower town, which is best for restaurants and services. 2
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The Val Venosta (Vinschgau)
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| Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
As the main approach to the Stelvio park, the Val Venosta is often busy with traffic but maintains a rural feel. Every weekend during July and August, one or other of the villages holds a summer street festival, with live music, beer gardens and fresh produce. One of the best is the Marmor e Marillen (Marble and Apricots) in early August in the tiny village of Laas which offers the chance to sample marillenknödel – sweet potato dumplings filled with whole apricots and rolled in sugar and breadcrumbs. Other places of note along the main valley road are the village of Forest (Forst) dominated by the Forst brewery (W www.forst.it), whose delicious beers you can sample throughout the region. Also worth seeking out is the Castello Juval (Palm Sunday to June & Sept to first Sun in Nov Thurs–Tues 10am–4pm; W www .messner-mountain-museum.it; €7) at Kastellbell. This is mountaineer Reinhold Messner’s summer residence and has a very reasonable osteria (T 0473.668.238) serving local organic food and wines. At the Málles (Mals) end of the valley the castle at Coira, more frequently known by its German name of Churburg, was owned by the lords of Matsch at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Back then, it was just one castle in a whole chain stretching from Bavaria to just north of Milan and was battled over by various knights – whose suits of armour, some weighing nearly 25kg, can be seen in the armoury (mid-March to Oct Tues–Sun 10am–noon & 2–4.30pm; T 0473.615.241, W www.churburg.com; €8). The ancient walled village of GLORENZA (Glurns) is just 2.5km away. Although it has a population of less than nine hundred, Glorenza still enjoys special privileges conferred in 1294 when it was a salt-trading centre. The tiny town is an architectural gem with porticoes and merchants’ houses dating back to the sixteenth century, and well-preserved town walls. Hotel Gasthof Grüner Baum at Piazza Città/Stadtplatz 7 (T 0473.831.206, W www.gasthofgruenerbaum .it; 3 ) is the place here for an overnight stop, a traditional inn that’s been sensitively reinvented in minimalist style.
The side valleys Three main side valleys thread their way from the Val Venosta into the foothills of the Ortles range: the Val Martello (Martelltal), the Val di Trafoi (Trafoiertal) and the Val di Solda (Suldental).
Crossing the Passo dello Stelvio
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The journey across the Ortles mountains over the Passo dello Stelvio (Stelvio Pass) to Bormio in Lombardy makes for a white-knuckle drive. This amazingly convoluted route consists of 48 switchbacks and turns but is well worth it for both the thrill and the view. Motorbikers love it and cyclists view the climb as the ultimate challenge – it’s often an important stage of the Girò d’Italia. Beware that this is one of the last Alpine passes to open to traffic each year, and it’s not unknown for the road to stay closed until July if there’s been a late fall of snow. If you’re travelling by public transport you can access the pass on one of the two afternoon buses from Málles. The end point of the route, Bormio, is a rather snooty resort with a sprawl of hotels in its cobblestoned core. There’s a visitor centre at Via Roma 131/B (Mon–Sat 9am–12.30pm & 3–6pm, July & Aug daily 9am—7pm; T0342.903.300, Wwww.bormio .info) which can advise on accommodation as well as nature trails in the southern reaches of the Stelvio national park.
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| Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio
If your ultimate destination is the Stelvio national park, a good option is to get off the Merano–Málles train at SILANDRO (Schlanders) and head for the tourist office at Kapuzinerstrasse 10 (Mon–Fri 8am–noon & 1–5pm, Sat 9am–12.30pm; T 0473.737.000, W www.south-tirol.com), which will provide information on rifugi and trails. A bus runs from Silandro into the beautiful VAL MARTELLO (Martelltal), passing silver birch woods, the ruins of Castel Montani and an aviary for falcons at Morter along the way. At the head of the valley, Paradiso del Cevedale (2088m) is one of the busiest bases for climbers and cross-country skiers, lying close to Monte Cevedale (Zufall Spitze; 3757m); other trails lead across high passes to Val d’Ultimo and Val di Solda. TRAFOI is a beautifully situated hamlet perched at 1543m by the side of the road towards the beginning of the main climb up to the Stelvio Pass (for accommodation here, see p.253). The uninterrupted views of the mighty Ortles are stupendous, and the slopes remarkably unsullied by tourism. A cable car makes the ascent from Trafoi to Rifugio Forcola (no accommodation) at 2250m, from where a fine path (4hr) continues up and round to the pass which until 1918 marked the frontier between Italy, Switzerland and Austria. On your way, you pass the Pizzo Garibaldi (Dreisprachenspitze), a spur of rock that’s the symbolic meeting place for the three main languages of the area. Just short of Trafoi, a minor road leads into an isolated tributary valley at the head of which, 8km west, lies SOLDA (Sulden). The hamlet has been a major climbing and skiing centre since the nineteenth century; for accommodation here, see p.253. There’s a helpful tourist office at Via Principale 72 (Mon–Fri 8am– noon & 3–6pm, Sat 9am–noon; Aug also Sat 3–6pm; T 0473.737.060, W www .ortlergebiet.it). If you have time, it’s worth checking out the tiny, eccentric museum (daily 9am–7pm; free) celebrating Solda’s existence as a mountain resort as well as the MMM Ortles ice museum (2nd Sun in Dec to April & 2nd Sun in June to 2nd Sun in Oct Wed–Mon 2pm–6pm; T 0473.613.266, W www.messner -mountain-museum.it; €5), part of Reinhold Messner’s network of mountain museums. As well as exhibits on the nearby glaciers of the Ortles, the highlight is the jagged skylight giving the impression you’re at the bottom of a crevasse, looking up. You can warm up afterwards by eating yak in various guises – yak goulash for example – at Messner’s restaurant, Yak e Yeti, at Suldenstrasse 55 (T 0473.613.266; closed Tues; around €30 for a three-course meal). It’s one of the most celebrated in the Val Venosta, with the yaks resident below. Although Solda attracts fairly serious climbers and skiers, you don’t have to be experienced to attempt some of the trails. There are easy paths (2hr) up to RifugioAlbergo Città di Milano (Schaubach Hütte; T 0473.613.002; late June to early Oct & Dec–May) at 2581m, or more difficult trails (3.5hr) to Rifugio Payer (T 0473.613.010; mid-June to Sept) at 3020m, a fantastic viewpoint and base for the ascent of Ortles (Ortler). At 3905m high, it was the tallest mountain of the old Austrian empire before the border changed, and was once marked on local maps as “The End of the World”.
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Travel details For online train timetables, go to Wwww.ferrovie dellostato.it. Trentino transport options, visit Wwww.ttesercizio.it. Transport in Alto Adige, visit W www.sad.it. Buses through the Dolomites around Cortina, visit W www.dolomitibus.it.
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Trains
| Travel details
Bolzano to: Bressanone (every 30min; 30min); Merano (every 30min; 40min); Trento (every 30min; 30–50min); Vipiteno (hourly; 1hr). Brunico to: Dobbiaco (every 30min; 30min). Fortezza to: Brunico (every 30min; 40min) then calling at Monguelfo (Welsberg), Villabassa (Niederdorf) and Dobbiaco (Toblach), terminating at San Candido (Innichen; 1hr 20min). Merano to: Silandro (at least hourly; 50min). Trento to: Bologna (10 daily; 2hr–3hr); Bolzano (every 30min; 30–50min); Bressanone (13 daily; 1hr 10min–2hr); Malé (Trento-Malé line; at least hourly; 1hr 30min); Rovereto (every 20min; 13min); Venice (18 daily; 2hr 30min–3hr); Verona (at least hourly; 1hr 20min).
Buses Note that the frequencies given here are for high season in summer, and that buses are significantly less frequent on Sat, and rare on Sun and public hols. Bolzano to: Caldaro (at least 2 per hour; 50min); Fiè (every 30min; 30min); Predazzo (every 2 hr; 1hr 45min); Ortisei (every 20min; 1hr); Vigo di Fassa (7 daily; 1hr 10min). Bressanone to: Brunico (at least 2 per hour; 1hr); Campo Tures (every 20min; 1hr 30min); Siusi
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(hourly; 1hr); Ortisei (at least 2 per hour; 1hr); San Leonardo (3 daily; 30min). Brunico to: Bressanone (at least 2 per hour; 1hr); Campo Tures (every 30min; 30min); Corvara (hourly; 1hr); Dobbiaco (at least 2 per hour; 42min); Plan de Corones cable-car terminal (at least 3 per hour; 14min); Longega; (hourly; 20min). Cortina d’Ampezzo to: Belluno (12 daily; 2hr); Calalzo (17 daily; 1hr); Dobbiaco (every 2 hr; 45min); Passo Falzarego (8 daily; 35min); Pieve di Cadore (15 daily; 52min). Corvara to: Brunico (hourly; 1hr); Longega (hourly; 40min). Dobbiaco to: Brunico (at least 2 per hour; 42min); Cortina d’Ampezzo (every 2 hr; 45min); Lago Bráies (8 daily; 28min); Villabassa (every 20min; 5min). Fiera di Primiero to: Passo di Cereda (5 daily; 20min); Predazzo (5 daily; 90min). Merano to: Katharinaberg (9 daily, may need to change at Naturns; 1hr); Lana (approx every 15min; 17min); Moso (at least hourly; 1hr 13min); Silandro (at least 2 per hour; 1hr). San Martino di Castrozza to: Fiera di Primiero (10 daily; 30min); Imer (8 daily; 40min). Siusi to: Ortisei (at least 2 hourly; 30min). Trento to: Canazei (4 daily; 2hr 45min); Madonna di Campiglio (4 daily, more in winter; 2hr 8min); Molveno (4 daily, train and bus; change at Mezzolombardo; 1hr 30min); Predazzo (7 daily; 1hr 51min); San Martino di Castrozza (4 daily, bus and train connection; 3hr); Tione (6 daily; 1hr 10min); Vigo di Fassa (4 daily; 2hr 20min).
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CHAPTER 5
✱ V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
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| Highlights
✱
✱
Highlights
Basilica di San Marco, Venice San Marco is an amazing sight with its 4000 square metres of golden mosaics – all you have to work out is how to beat the queues. See p.275 The Accademia, Venice Masterpieces by Titian, Bellini, Veronese and Tintoretto feature strongly in the world’s best collection of Venetian painting. See p.281 Punta della Dogana, Venice If you have even the slightest interest in contemporary art, make time for the Dogana – the best collection of its kind in Europe. See p.283 Carnevale Venice’s carnival is the most famous, but if you
want a less touristic event, head for Verona, where the whole town turns out for a procession of more than eighty floats. See p.307
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Giotto frescoes, Padua Giotto’s frescoes in the Cappella degli Scrovegni constitute one of the pivotal works in the history of European art. See p.314
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Vicenza The well-heeled city of Vicenza is renowned above all for the buildings of Palladio, perhaps the most influential architect ever. See p.319
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Verona Cradled in a tight curve of the Adige river, Verona is a fabulously handsome city. See p.324
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Piazza delle Erbe, Verona
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he first-time visitor to Venice arrives full of expectations, most of which turn out to be well founded. All the photographs you’ve seen of the Palazzo Ducale, of the Basilica di San Marco, of the palaces along the Canal Grande – they’ve simply been recording the extraordinary truth. All the bad things you’ve heard about the city turn out to be right as well. Economically and socially ossified, it is losing hundreds of residents by the year and plays virtually no part in the life of modern Italy. It’s deluged with tourists and occasionally things get so bad that entry into the city is barred to those who haven’t already booked a room. And it’s expensive – the price of a good meal almost anywhere else in Italy will get you a lousy one in Venice, and its hoteliers make the most of a situation where demand will always far outstrip supply. As soon as you begin to explore Venice, though, every day will bring its surprises, for this is an urban landscape so rich that you can’t walk for a minute without coming across something that’s worth a stop. And although it’s true that the city can be unbearably crowded, things aren’t so bad beyond the magnetic field of San Marco and the kitsch-sellers of the vicinity, and in the off-season (November to Christmas and January to Easter, excluding Carnevale) it’s possible to have parts of the centre virtually to yourself. As for keeping your costs down, Venice has plenty of markets in addition to the celebrated Rialto, there are some good-value eating places, and you can, with planning, find a bed without spending a fortune. Tourism is far from being the only strand to the economy of the Veneto, the surrounding region of which Venice is capital. The rich, flat land around the Po supports some of Italy’s most productive farms and vineyards, and industrial development around the main towns rivals even the better-known areas around Milan, making the region one of the richest in Europe. At Marghera, just over the lagoon from Venice, the Veneto has the largest industrial complex in the country, albeit one that is now in decline. But tourism is extremely important, with Padua and Verona the main attractions after Venice, thanks to their masterpieces by Giotto, Donatello and Mantegna and a profusion of great buildings. None of the other towns of the Veneto can match the cultural wealth of these two, but there are nonetheless plenty of places that justify a detour – the Palladian city of Vicenza, for instance, the fortified settlements of Castelfranco and Cittadella, and the idyllic upland town of Ásolo.
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For outdoor types, the interesting terrain lies in the northern part of the Veneto, where the wooded slopes of the foothills – excellent for walking – soon give way to the savage precipices of the eastern Dolomites. Because most of the high peaks of the Dolomites lie within Trentino-Alto Adige, and the mountains of the eastern Dolomites are most easily explored as part of a tour of the range as a whole, the area of the Veneto north of Belluno is covered in the “Trentino-Alto Adige” chapter. Similarly, the eastern shore of Lake Garda is covered as part of the Lakes region in the “Lombardy and the Lakes” chapter.
Venice (Venezia) 260
The monuments that draw the largest crowds in Venice are the Basilica di San Marco – the mausoleum of the city’s patron saint – and the Palazzo Ducale – the home of the doge and all the governing councils. Certainly these are the most dramatic structures in the city: the first a mosaic-clad emblem of Venice’s Byzantine origins, the second perhaps the finest of all secular Gothic buildings. But every parish rewards exploration, and a roll-call of the churches worth visiting would feature over fifty names, and a list of the important paintings and sculptures they contain would
Some history
| Venice (Venezia)
Small groups of fishermen and hunters were living on the mudbanks of the Venetian lagoon at the start of the Christian era, but the first mass migration was provoked by the arrival in the Veneto of Attila the Hun’s hordes in 453, and the rate of settlement accelerated when the Lombards swept into northern Italy in 568. The loose confederation of island communes that developed owed political allegiance to Byzantium. But with the steep increase in the population of the islands the ties with the empire grew weaker, and in 726 the settlers chose their own leader of the provincial government – the first doge. The control of Byzantium soon became no more than nominal, and the inhabitants of the lagoon signalled their independence through one great symbolic act
V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
be twice as long. Two of the distinctively Venetian institutions known as the scuole retain some of the outstanding examples of Italian Renaissance art – the Scuola di San Rocco, with its sequence of pictures by Tintoretto, and the Scuola di San Giorgio degli Schiavoni, decorated with a gorgeous sequence by Carpaccio. Although many of the city’s treasures remain in the buildings for which they were created, a sizeable number have been removed to Venice’s museums. The one that should not be missed is the Accademia, an assembly of Venetian painting that consists of virtually nothing but masterpieces; other prominent collections include the museum of eighteenth-century art in the Ca’ Rezzonico, the Museo Correr (the civic museum of Venice), and the city’s superb new showcase for contemporary art, the Punta della Dogana. Venice’s cultural heritage is a source of endless fascination, but you should also allow time just to wander – the anonymous parts of the city reveal as much of the city’s essence as the highlighted attractions. And equally indispensable for a full understanding of Venice’s way of life and development are expeditions to the outer islands of the lagoon.
Regional food and wine Venice specializes in fish and seafood, together with exotic ingredients like pomegranates, pine nuts and raisins, harking back to its days as a port and merchant city. The surrounding Veneto vies with Lombardy for the risotto-making crown – the end product tending to be more liquid than those to the west, usually with a seafood base although peas (bisi in the local dialect) are also common, as are other seasonal vegetables including spinach, asparagus and pumpkin. The red salad-leaf radicchio also has its home in the Veneto, as does the renowned Italian dessert, tiramisù. Polenta is eaten, too, while pork in all forms features strongly, together with heavy soups of beans, rice and root vegetables. Pastries and sweets are also an area of Venetian expertise. Look out for the thin oval biscuits called baicoli, the ring-shaped cinnamon-flavoured bussolai (a speciality of the Venetian island of Burano) and mandorlato, a cross between nougat and toffee, made with almonds. The Veneto has been very successful at developing wines with French and German grape varieties, notably Merlot, Cabernet, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, Müller-Thurgau, Riesling, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer. The quintessentially Italian Bardolino, Valpolicella and Soave are all from the Verona area and, like so many Italian wines, taste better near their region of origin. This is also true of Prosecco, a light champagnelike wine from the area around Conegliano. Grappa, the local firewater, is associated particularly with the upland town of Bassano di Grappa, where every alimentari stocks a dozen varieties. Made from grape husks, juniper berries or plums, grappa is very much an acquired taste.
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| Venice (Venezia) SS. Giovanni e Paolo
Zitelle
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V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
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S. Pietro di Castello
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VENICE
V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
| Arrival
– the theft of the body of St Mark from Alexandria in 828. St Mark displaced Byzantium’s St Theodore as the city’s patron, and a basilica was built alongside the doge’s castle to accommodate the relics. These two buildings – the Basilica di San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale – were to remain the emblems of the Venetian state and the repository of power within the city for almost one thousand years. Before the close of the tenth century the Venetian trading networks were well established through concessions granted by Byzantium in the markets of the East. By the early twelfth century Venetian merchants had won exemption from all tolls within the eastern empire and were profiting from the chaos that followed the First Crusade, launched in 1095. Prosperity found expression in the fabric of the city: the basilica and many of its mosaics are from this period. The Fourth Crusade, diverted to Constantinople by the Venetians, set the seal on their maritime empire. They brought back shiploads of treasure (including the horses of San Marco) from the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, but more significant was the division of the territorial spoils, which left “one quarter and half a quarter” of the Roman Empire under Venice’s sway and gave it a chain of ports that stretched to the Black Sea. After the Sack of Rome in 1527 the whole Italian peninsula, with the exception of Venice, came under the domination of Emperor Charles V. Hemmed in at home, Venice saw its overseas territory further whittled away by the Turks as the century progressed: by 1529 the Ottoman Empire extended right along the southern Mediterranean to Morocco, and even the great naval success at Lépanto in 1571 was followed by the surrender of Cyprus. The decline continued throughout the 1600s and by the eighteenth century Venice had become a political nonentity: the playground of Europe, a city of casinos and perpetual festivals. Napoleon finally brought the show to an end: on May 12, 1797, the Maggior Consiglio met for the last time, voting to accede to his demand that it dismantle the machinery of government. After Waterloo, Venice fell to the Austrians and remained a Habsburg province until united with the Kingdom of Italy in 1866. The need for a more substantial economic base led, in the wake of World War I, to the construction of the industrial centre across the lagoon at Marghera, adjacent to Mestre, which in 1933 was connected to Venice by a road link. After World War II Mestre-Marghera’s growth accelerated greatly, and the mainland conurbation has continued to expand, to the detriment of the centro storico. The factories of MestreMarghera are essential to the economy of the province, but have caused problems too: apart from polluting the lagoon, they have siphoned many people out of Venice and into the cheaper housing of Mestre, making Mestre-Marghera today more than three times larger than the historic centre of Venice, where the population has dropped since World War II from around 170,000 to under 60,000. No city has suffered more from the tourist industry than Venice – around twenty million people visit the city each year – though without them Venice would barely survive.
Arrival Arriving by air, you’ll touch down in one of two airports: Treviso (T 042.231.5111, W www.trevisoairport.it), 30km inland, or at Venice’s Marco Polo airport (T 041.260.9260, W www.veniceairport.com), around 7km north of Venice, on the edge of the lagoon. The former is used chiefly by charter companies, some of whom provide a bus link from the airport into Venice. If such a service isn’t provided, you can take the ATVO bus directly to Venice; it costs €6 and takes seventy minutes. Alternatively, take the #6 bus from outside the terminal building to Treviso (20min), from where there are regular bus and train connections to Venice.
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| Information
Most scheduled flights and some charters arrive at Marco Polo. From here, the most inexpensive transport is provided by the two bus services to the terminal at Piazzale Roma: the ATVO (Azienda Trasporti Veneto Orientale; W www.atvo .it) coach, which departs every thirty minutes and takes around twenty minutes (€3), or the ACTV (Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano; W www.actv .it) bus #5 or #5D, which is equally frequent: it’s a local bus service, taking about five minutes longer, and costs €2.50. If you’d prefer to approach the city by water, you could take one of the Alilaguna water-buses, which operate on four routes from the airport: Murano – Fondamente Nove – Lido – San Zaccaria – San Marco – Záttere (6.10am–midnight); Murano – Fondamente Nove – Rialto – Sant’Angelo (9.55am–4pm); Murano – Lido – Arsenale – San Marco – Záttere (9.15am–9.15pm); and directly to San Zaccaria and then San Marco (9.30am–3.30pm). The Alilaguna fare is €6.50 to Murano and €13 to central Venice. All services are hourly, and the journey time to San Marco is about 70min. Tickets for Alilaguna, ATVO and ACTV buses are from the offices in the arrivals hall; in addition to single tickets, you can also get ACTV passes (see p.267) and Venice Cards here (see box opposite) – a wise investment for most visitors. Note that ACTV passes are not valid on the Alilaguna service, nor on the ATVO bus. Water-taxi drivers tout for business in and around the arrivals hall. This is the most luxurious means of getting into the city, but it’s ruinously expensive: you’ll pay in excess of €100 to San Marco, for up to six people. Ordinary taxis are ranked outside the arrivals hall, and cost about €35 to Piazzale Roma.
By road or rail Visitors arriving by car must leave their vehicle either on the mainland or in one of the city’s car parks – at Piazzale Roma or the ever-expanding Tronchetto, Europe’s largest car park. Prices at these two vary according to the time of year, the length of stay and the size of car, but it’s never cheap, and in summer the tailbacks can be horrendous. It’s better to use either the less expensive open-air San Giuliano car park at Mestre (open summer, Easter and during Carnevale), linked by ACTV buses with central Venice, or the terminal at Fusina, just south of Mestre, open year-round and connected by water-buses with Piazza San Marco (ACTV passes not valid). Arriving by train or long-distance bus, you simply get off at the end of the line. The Piazzale Roma bus station and Santa Lucia train station are just five minutes’ walk from each other, linked by the new Ponte della Costituzione, at the top of the Canal Grande, and both are well served by vaporetto (water-bus) services to the core of the city.
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The main tourist office – known as the Venice Pavilion – occupies the Palazzina del Santi, on the west side of the Giardinetti Reali, within a minute of the Piazza (daily 10am–6pm; T 041.529.8711, W www.turismovenezia.it); smaller offices operate in the corner of the Piazza at Calle dell’Ascensione 71/F (daily 9am–3.30pm; T 041.520.8740), at the train station (daily 8am–6.30pm; T 041.529.8727), in Marco Polo airport arrivals area (Mon–Sat 9.30am–7.30pm; T 041.541.5887), in the multistorey car park at Piazzale Roma (daily 9.30am–4.30pm; T 041.529.8746) and on the Lido at Gran Viale S.M. Elisabetta 6 ( June–Sept daily 9.30am–12.30pm & 3.30–6pm; T 041.526.5721). The Calle dell’Ascensione office is also the outlet for information on the whole Veneto region.
The Venice and Rolling Venice cards
V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
| City transport
Aimed at tourists who are doing some intensive sightseeing, the Venice Card comes in two forms and is valid for either three or seven days, with a meagre discount for under-30s. The “Transport” version (3-day €48/47; 7-day €68/67) gives unlimited use of ACTV public transport, reduced admission to some one-off exhibitions and free access to the city’s supervised public toilets; the ACTV travel passes (see box, p.267) are a better investment than this. The “Transport & Culture” version (3-day €73/66; 7-day €96/87), however, also gives you one free visit to all the museums and churches covered by the Museum Pass and Chorus Pass (see box, p.274), plus the Querini-Stampalia and Jewish museums. For a €23 supplement you can buy a version of the Venice Card that’s valid on Alilaguna services to and from the airport. Note that kids under 6 get free museum entrance anyway, but only under-4s get free travel on public transport. You can buy Venice Cards from the tourist offices and at some of the larger vaporetto stops, notably Piazzale Roma, the train station, Accademia, Rialto and San Marco Vallaresso (outlets are identified by the Hellovenezia sign); alternatively, you can order the card a minimum of 48 hours in advance online at W www.hellovenezia.com, which gives a discount of at least ten percent. You will be given a code number which you will need to present when you turn up to collect your ticket from one of the offices listed above. If you’re aged between 14 and 29, you are eligible for a Rolling Venice card, which entitles you to discounts at some shops, restaurants, hostels, campsites, museums, concerts and exhibitions, plus a discount on the 72-hour ACTV travel pass. The card costs €4, is valid until the end of the year in which it’s bought, and is worth it if you’re in town for at least a week and aim to make the most of every minute. The Rolling Venice card is available from the same outlets as the Venice Card, on production of a passport or similar ID.
These offices distribute copies of Eventi & Manifestazioni, a free quarterly publication that lists the latest museum and gallery opening hours and prices, plus details of exhibitions, concerts and other events; some of the information is in Italian only, but the essentials are in English too. Also useful is the English– Italian magazine Un Ospite di Venezia (W www.unospitedivenezia.it): produced fortnightly in summer and monthly in winter, it gives slightly fuller information on some events, plus extras such as vaporetto timetables; it’s free from the reception desks of many four- and five-star hotels. The best source of information, though, is: venews (€2.50; W www.venezianews.it), published on the first day of each month and sold at newsstands all over the city; it has good coverage of exhibitions, cultural events, bars and restaurants.
City transport Venice has two interlocking street systems – the canals and the pavements – and, contrary to what you might expect, you’ll be using the latter for most of the time. With the exceptions of the #1, #2 and the night service, the water-buses skirt the city centre, connecting points on the periphery and the outer islands. Taking a water-bus is usually the quickest way of getting between far-flung points, but in many cases the speediest way of getting from A to B is on foot – you don’t have to run, for instance, to cover the distance from the Piazza to the Rialto Bridge quicker than the #1 boat.
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Water-buses There are two basic types of boat: vaporetti, which are the lumbering workhorses used on the Canal Grande stopping service and other heavily used routes, and motoscafi, smaller vessels employed on routes where the volume of traffic isn’t as great. The standard fare is an exorbitant €6.50 for a single journey; the ticket is valid for an hour. Should you have more than one piece of large luggage, you’re supposed to pay €6.50 per additional item. Children under 4 travel free. Tickets are available from most landing stages, from tabacchi, from shops displaying the
Water-bus routes V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
| City transport 266
What follows is a run-through of the water-bus routes that visitors are most likely to find useful; a full timetable can usually be picked up at the major vaporetto stops: Piazzale Roma, Ferrovia, San Marco, San Zaccaria, Accademia, Fondamente Nove. Be warned that so many services call at San Marco, San Zaccaria, Rialto and the train station that the stops at these points are spread out over a long stretch of waterfront. Note also that the main San Marco stop is also known as San Marco Vallaresso, or plain Vallaresso, and that the San Zaccaria stop is as close to the Piazza as is the Vallaresso stop. #1 This is the workhorse of the system, and the one you’ll use most often. It starts at the Piazzale Roma, calls at every stop on the Canal Grande except San Samuele, works its way along the San Marco waterfront to Sant’Elena, then goes over to the Lido. Daily 5am–11.45pm, every ten minutes for most of the day. #2 From San Zaccaria to San Giorgio Maggiore, along Giudecca, to Záttere, Tronchetto, Piazzale Roma, the train station, then down the Canal Grande to the Rialto (making fewer stops than the #1); it also runs in the opposite direction. Between approximately 9am and 5pm it runs from Rialto to San Marco (Vallaresso), and vice versa. Daily 5.40am–11.10pm, every ten minutes for most of the day. #41/42 The circular service, running round the core of Venice, with a detour to San Michele and Murano. The #41 travels anticlockwise, the #42 clockwise. Daily 6.30am– 7.30pm, every 20min; after 7.30pm, the #41/42 together shuttle between Murano and Fondamente Nove, running every 20min until around 11.30pm. #51/52 This route also circles Venice, but heads out to the Lido (rather than Murano) at the easternmost end of the circle. The #51 runs anticlockwise, the #52 clockwise, and both run fast through the Giudecca canal, stopping only at Záttere and Santa Marta between San Zaccaria and Piazzale Roma. Both run every 20min for most of the day, from 4.30am to 11.20pm. In the early morning and late evening (4.30–6.20am & 8.30–11.20pm) the boats do not run along the whole route. #LN The “Laguna Nord” runs from Fondamente Nove, calling at Murano-Faro before heading on to Mazzorbo, Burano (from where there is a connecting half-hourly #T shuttle to Torcello), Treporti, Punta Sabbioni, the Lido and San Zaccaria (the Pietà stop); it also runs in the opposite direction. Daily from 4.30am to 11pm; every 30min until 7.40pm, then hourly. #DM The “Diretto Murano” runs from Tronchetto via Piazzale Roma and Ferrovia to Murano, where it always calls at Colonna and Museo, and often at other Murano stops too. Daily 8am–6pm, every 30min. #N This night service is a fusion of the #1 and #2 routes, running from the Lido to Giardini, San Zaccaria, San Marco (Vallaresso), up the Canal Grande to the train station, Piazzale Roma, Tronchetto, Sacca Fisola, San Basilio, Záttere, along Giudecca to San Giorgio and then to San Zaccaria – and vice versa. It runs along the whole of the route roughly every 30min, and along the Rialto-to-Tronchetto part every 20min. Daily 11.30pm–4.30am. Another night service, the “Notturno Laguna Nord”, connects Fondamente Nove with Murano and Burano (11.30pm–3am, every 30min).
Travel cards
ACTV sign, from the tourist offices and the ACTV office at Piazzale Roma (daily: summer 6am–11.30pm; winter 6am–8pm). Tickets can also be bought on board at the standard price, as long as you ask the attendant as soon as you get on board; if you delay, you could be liable for a spot-fine of €44.
Traghetti
| City transport
There are four bridges on the Canal Grande – at Piazzale Roma, the train station, Rialto and Accademia – so the traghetti (gondola ferries) that cross it can be useful time-savers. Costing just €0.50, they are also the only cheap way of getting a ride on a gondola – though it’s de rigueur to stand in a traghetto rather than sit. The gondola traghetti across the Canal Grande are as follows (proceeding from the San Marco end to the station end): San Marco (Vallaresso)–Dogana di Mare (daily 9am–2pm); Santa Maria del Giglio–Salute (daily 9am–6pm); Ca’ Rezzonico–San Samuele (Mon–Sat 8.30am–1.30pm); San Tomà–Santo Stefano (Mon–Sat 7.30am– 8pm, Sun 8.30am–7.30pm); Riva del Carbon–Riva del Vin (near Rialto; Mon–Sat 8am–1pm); Santa Sofia–Rialto (Mon–Sat 7.30am–8pm, Sun 8.45am–7pm); San Marcuola–Fondaco dei Turchi (Mon–Sat 9am–1pm). In the winter months it’s common for traghetti to cease operating considerably earlier than the times indicated above, or even to be suspended altogether.
V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
Unless you intend to walk all day, you’ll almost certainly save money by buying some sort of travel card as soon as you arrive. ACTV produces tickets valid for 12 hours (€16), 24 hours (€18), 36 hours (€23), 48 hours (€28), 72 hours (€33), and seven days (€50), which can be used on all ACTV services within Venice (including ACTV land buses from the airport), but not on Alilaguna services. If you buy an ordinary single ticket at the train station, Piazzale Roma, San Zaccaria or San Marco it will in all likelihood be automatically validated. Most tickets, however, must be validated before embarking, at one of the orange machines at the vaporetto stops. Travel cards have to be swiped before each journey at the meter-like machines at every stop.
Water taxis Venice’s water taxis are possibly the most expensive form of taxi in western Europe: the clock starts at €13 and goes up €1.80 every minute. All sorts of additional surcharges are levied as well – €5 for each extra person if there are more than two in the party; €3 for each piece of luggage over 50cm long; €8 for a ride between 10pm and 7am. There are three ways of getting a taxi: go to one of the main stands (in front of the Piazzetta and at the airport), find one in the process of disgorging its passengers, or call T 041.522.2303 or 041.723.112. If you phone up there is also a surcharge, of course.
Gondolas The gondola is no longer a form of transport but rather an adjunct of the tourist industry. But however much the gondola’s image has become tarnished, it is an astonishingly graceful craft, perfectly designed for negotiating the tortuous and shallow waterways: a gondola displaces so little water, and the gondoliers are so dexterous, that there’s hardly a canal in the city that they can’t negotiate. To hire one costs €80 per forty minutes for up to six passengers, rising to €100 between 8pm and 8am; you pay an extra €40 for every additional 20min, or €50 from 8pm
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to 8am. Further hefty surcharges will be levied should you require the services of an on-board accordionist or tenor – and a surprising number of people do. Even though the tariff is set by the local authorities, it’s been known for some gondoliers to try to extort even higher rates than these – if you do decide to go for a ride, establish the charge before setting off. To minimize the chances of being ripped off, only take a boat from one of the following official gondola stands: west of Piazza San Marco at Calle Vallaresso, Campo San Moisè or Campo Santa Maria del Giglio; immediately north of the Piazza at Bacino Orseolo; on the Molo, in front of the Palazzo Ducale; outside the Danieli hotel on Riva degli Schiavoni; at the train station; at Piazzale Roma; at Campo Santa Sofia, near the Ca’ d’Oro; at San Tomà; or by the Rialto Bridge on Riva Carbon.
Accommodation
| Accommodation
Demand for holiday accommodation in Venice outstrips supply to such a degree that this city is the most expensive in western Europe, with some one-star hotels charging in excess of €150 for a double room in high season. What’s more, the high season here is longer than anywhere else in the country – it is officially classified as running from March 15 to November 15 and then from December 21 to January 6, but many places don’t recognize the existence of a low season any more. Several hotels, on the other hand, lower their prices in August, the month in which many Italians – including Venetian restaurateurs and bar owners – decamp to the beaches and the mountains. It’s never a good idea to turn up in Venice without reserving your accommodation first, and it’s wisest to book your place at least three months in advance. The tourist office’s website (W www.turismovenezia.it) gives details of accommodation of all types, or try the websites of the Venetian Hoteliers’ Association (AVA) – W www.veneziasi.it. Finally, should you bowl into town with nowhere to stay, you could call in at one of the AVA’s VeneziaSi booking offices: at the train station (daily: summer 8am–9pm; winter 8am–7pm); on the Tronchetto (daily: 9am–8pm); in the multistorey car park at Piazzale Roma (daily: 9am–9pm); and at Marco Polo airport (daily: summer 9am–7pm; winter noon–7pm). They only deal with hotels (not hostels or B&Bs) and take a deposit that’s deductible from your first night’s bill.
Hotels and locande
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Venice has well in excess of two hundred hotels, ranging from spartan one-star joints to five-star lusso establishments charging over €1500 per night for the best double room in high season. Though there are some anomalies, the star system is a broadly reliable indicator of quality, but always bear in mind that you pay through the nose for your proximity to Piazza San Marco. So if you want maximum comfort for your money, decide how much you can afford and then look for a place outside the San Marco sestiere – after all, it’s not far to walk, wherever you’re staying. If you are looking for a small family-run establishment, a locanda – guesthouse – might fit the bill: Venice’s best locande offer a standard of accommodation equivalent to three- or even four-star hotels (24hr room service is just about the only facility they don’t provide), but often at a lower cost. Breakfast is nearly always included in the room rate; if it isn’t, you’re best advised to take it in a café, where the quality will probably be better and the price certainly lower.
San Marco
Accademia Villa Maravege Fondamenta Bollani 1058 T041.521.0188, Wwww.pensioneaccademia .it. Once the Russian embassy, this seventeenthcentury villa has a devoted following, not least on account of its garden, which occupies a promontory at the convergence of two canals, with a view of the Canal Grande. The hotel also owns two three-star hotels in San Marco and does try to palm off people with those if the Villa is full, but they lack the charm
| Accommodation
Dorsoduro
and calm of this hotel. Book at least three months ahead. 6 Agli Alboretti Rio Terrà Foscarini 884 T041.523.0058, W www.aglialboretti.com. Friendly and popular family-run three-star well situated right next to the Accademia; its highseason prices compare very favourably with those of many rivals. 6 Ca’ Foscari Calle della Frescada 3887/B T041.710.401, Wwww.locandacafoscari.com. Quiet, well-decorated and inexpensive one-star, tucked away near San Tomà. Just eleven rooms (seven en-suite), so it’s quickly booked up. Its hours are somewhat hostel-like, with a 1am curfew. 3 Ca’ Maria Adele Rio Terrà dei Catecumeni 111 T041.520.3078, Wwww.camariaadele .it. Five of the twelve rooms in this very upmarket locanda are themed – the Sala Noir, for example, is a “voluptuous and hot” creation in cocoa and spice tones. The non-themed accommodation is less artfully conceived (and a lot cheaper), but spacious and very comfortable. Online discounts can bring the price down by as much as fifty percent. 8 Ca’ Pisani Rio Terà Foscarini 979A T041.240.1411, W www.capisanihotel.it. This glamorous 29-room four-star, just a few metres from the Accademia, takes its cue from the style of the 1930s and 1940s, making heavy use of dark wood and chrome. The high-class retro look is a refreshing break from the Renaissance and Rococo flourishes that tend to prevail in Venice’s upmarket establishments. 8 La Calcina Záttere ai Gesuati 780 T041.520.6466, Wwww.lacalcina.com. Charismatic and comparatively inexpensive threestar hotel in the house where Ruskin wrote much of The Stones of Venice. From the more expensive rooms you can gaze across to the Redentore, a church that gave him apoplexy. All rooms have parquet floors (unusual in Venice), and no TV or minibar – a management decision indicative of the desire to maintain the building’s character. Its restaurant (La Piscina) is good too. 5 Locanda San Barnaba Calle del Traghetto 2785 T041.241.1233, Wwww.locanda-sanbarnaba.com. Exceptionally pleasant and nicely priced three-star hotel right by the Ca’ Rezzonico. Thirteen wellequipped rooms – some have eighteenth-century frescoes, and one has a really enormous bath. 5 Montin Fondamenta di Borgo 1147 T041.522.7151, Wwww.locandamontin.com. The Montin is known principally for its upmarket and once-fashionable restaurant; few people realize that it offers some of Venice’s best budget accommodation. Only eleven rooms, three of them without private bathroom; the best rooms are spacious and balconied. 4
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Ai Do Mori Calle Larga S. Marzo 658 T 041.520.4817, W www.hotelaidomori.com. Very friendly, and situated a few paces off the Piazza, this one-star is a top recommendation for budget travellers. It has eleven rooms; no. 11 has a private terrace looking over the roof of the basilica. No lift – the rooms are on the third and fourth floors. All rooms have their own bathroom. 5 Al Gambero Calle dei Fabbri 4687 T041.522.4384, Wwww.locandaalgambero.com. Three-star hotel a short distance off the north side of the Piazza; many of the rooms overlook a canal that’s on the standard gondola route. There’s a boisterous bistro on the ground floor. 5 Art Deco Calle delle Botteghe 2966 T 041.277.0558, W www.locandaartdeco.com. This cosy locanda has a seventeenth-century palazzo setting, but the pristinely white bedrooms have modern wrought-iron furniture. 5 Casa Petrarca Calle Schiavinie 4386 T041.520.0430, Wwww.casapetrarca.com. A very hospitable one-star, one of the cheapest hotels near the Piazza. Just seven rooms: one is very small and six have en-suite bathrooms. All rooms on the first floor – and there is a tiny lift. No credit cards. 4 Fiorita Campiello Nuovo 3457 T041.523.4754, W www.locandafiorita.com. Welcoming one-star with just ten rooms on a small square by Santo Stefano church. Rooms are all en-suite and decorated in eighteenth-century style, and many are spacious. Helpful staff. 5 Novecento Calle del Dose 2683 T041.241.3765, Wwww.novecento.biz. Beautiful, intimate and very welcoming locanda with nine individually decorated doubles and luxurious bathrooms. Styling is ethnic/eclectic (furnishings from Morocco, China, Japan and Egypt), and there’s a small courtyard for breakfast. 5 Orseolo Corte Zorzi 1083 T041.520.4827, W www.locandaorseolo.com. Family-run locanda, fifty metres north of Piazza San Marco. Rooms are spacious and light (the ones with canal views are more expensive) and breakfasts substantial. 6
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ACCOMMODATION Accademia Villa Maravege Agli Alboretti Ai Do Mori Al Gambero Art Deco Ca’ Arco Antico Ca’ Fóscari Ca’ Maria Adele Ca’ Pisani Casa Petrarca Casa Querini Casa Verardo Fiorita Locanda San Barnaba Novecento Orseolo Scandinavia
N O G E K B F Q P H D C J L M I A
CAFÉS & RESTAURANTS Al Bacareto 19 Alla Madonna 7 Antico Dolo 2 Caffè del Doge 3 Florian 21 Igloo 18 La Boutique del Gelato 10 Marchini 16 Nico 23 Osteria al Ponte 12 Osteria-Enoteca San Marco 20 Rosa Salva 11 & 17 Rosticceria Gislon 8 VizioVirtù 14
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San Polo and Santa Croce
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| Accommodation 272
Ca’ Arco Antico Calle del Forno, San Polo 1451 T 041.241.1227, W www.arcoantico venice.com. This six-room locanda offers an attractive mix of the traditional and the modern. With big rooms, a great location near San Polo church, and an excellent breakfast (a rarity in Venice), this offers some of the best-value accommodation in the city. 5 Ca’ San Giorgio Salizada del Fontego dei Turchi 1725, Santa Croce T041.275.9177, Wwww .casangiorgio.com. Exposed timber beams and walls of raw brick advertise the age of the Gothic palazzo that’s occupied by this fine little locanda, while the bedrooms are tastefully and very comfortably furnished in quasi-antique style. The gorgeous top-floor suite has its own rooftop terrace. 4 San Cassiano-Ca’ Favretto Calle della Rosa, Santa Croce 2232 T041.524.1768, Wwww.sancassiano.it. Beautiful 35-room four-star with some rooms looking across the Canal Grande towards the Ca’ d’Oro. Has very helpful staff, a nice courtyard garden and a grand entrance hall. It was once the home of the nineteenth-century painter Giacomo Favretto, and is fitted out in the style of the period. 6
Locanda Ai Santi Apostoli Strada Nova 4391/A T041.521.2612, W www.locandasantiapostoli .com. Occupying the top floor of an ancient palazzo opposite the Rialto market, this ten-room three-star has two lovely rooms overlooking the Canal Grande – for which you’ll pay €100 more than for the standard doubles. The staff are very helpful, the location terrific, and you can get huge discounts online. 7 Locanda Leon Bianco Corte Leon Bianco 5629 T041.523.3572, Wwww.leonbianco.it. Friendly and charming locanda in a superb location not far from the Rialto Bridge, tucked away beside the ancient Ca’ da Mosto. Only eight rooms, but three overlook the Canal Grande (for which there’s a premium) and most of the others are spacious and tastefully furnished in eighteenth-century style – one even has a huge fresco copied from a Tiepolo ceiling. 5 Palazzo Abadessa Calle Priuli 4011 T041.241.3784, Wwww.abadessa.com. This gorgeous residenza d’epoca is a meticulously restored palazzo behind the church of Santa Sofia; all eight of its bedrooms (some of them huge) are nicely furnished with genuine antiques, and there’s a lovely secluded garden as well. 6
Cannaregio
Castello
Abbazia Calle Priuli 68 T041.717.333, Wwww .abbaziahotel.com. One of Cannaregio’s most restful hotels, the light-filled Abbazia occupies a former Carmelite monastery (the monks attached to the Scalzi still live in a building adjoining the hotel), and provides three-star amenities without losing its air of quasi-monastic austerity. There’s a delightful garden too, and the staff are exceptionally helpful. 6 Adua Lista di Spagna 233/A T041.716.184, W www.aduahotel.com. Thirteen-room two-star with friendly management, benign prices and a choice of rooms with private or shared bathroom. One of the best hotels in an area where too much of the accommodation is below standard. 4 Bernardi Semenzato Calle dell’Oca 4366 T041.522.7257, Wwww.hotelbernardi.com. Very well-priced two-star in a prime location (in an alleyway close to Campo S. Apostoli), with immensely helpful owners who speak excellent English. Singles for as little as €55 in low season (with shared bathroom). 3 Giorgione Calle Larga dei Proverbi 4587 T041.522.5810, Wwww.hotelgiorgione.com. This plush and well-priced four-star, not far from the Rialto Bridge, has a more personal touch than many of the city’s upmarket hotels – it has been run by the same family for generations. There’s a quiet garden and a pool table, and some of the 76 rooms have a small private terrace. Big discounts online. 5
Casa Querini Campo San Giovanni Novo 4388 T041.241.1294, W www.locandaquerini.com. Friendly locanda with six smallish but nicely furnished a/c rooms; it overlooks a tiny campo that’s perfectly quiet, even though it’s just a few metres from the Piazza. 4 Casa Verardo Calle della Chiesa 4765 T041.528.6127, Wwww.casaverardo.it. A fine three-star hotel occupying a nicely refurbished sixteenth-century palazzo. Twenty-three wellequipped rooms with a breakfast terrace downstairs, a small garden, a sun lounge at the top and another terrace attached to the priciest of the rooms. 6 Danieli Riva degli Schiavoni 4196 T041.522.6480, Wwww.danielihotelvenice.com. Others might rival its prices but nowhere in Venice can compete with the glamour of the Danieli. This Gothic palazzo affords just about the most sybaritic hotel experience on the continent – provided you book a room in the old building, not the modern extension. High-season doubles are advertised at €800 and upwards, but online booking, well in advance, might get a discount of almost fifty percent. 9 La Residenza Campo Bandiera e Moro 3608 T041.528.5315, Wwww .venicelaresidenza.com. This fourteenth-century palazzo is a mid-range gem (by Venetian standards), on a tranquil square just off the main waterfront. The fourteen rooms are very spacious
(rare at this price) and elegant, and the management extremely simpatico. Payment in cash preferred for short stays. 5 Scandinavia Campo S. Maria Formosa 5240 T 041.522.3507, W www.scandinaviahotel.com. Sizeable and comfortable three-star, decorated
mainly in eighteenth-century style (lots of Murano glass and floral motifs). Most of the 33 rooms are a decent size, and several of them overlook Campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the city’s liveliest and best-looking squares. Massive reductions in the quiet months. 6
Hostels
convent in a quiet part of Cannaregio, with dorm beds and double rooms, all with shared bathrooms. Check-in 5–8pm; 12.30pm curfew; €20 per person for a dorm bed, €25 for a bed in a shared room. It’s essential to book in summer. Closed over the Christmas period. Ostello Venezia Fondamenta delle Zitelle, Giudecca 86 T041.523.8211, Wwww.ostellovenezia.it. The city’s HI hostel occupies a superb location looking over to San Marco, but it’s run with a certain briskness. Check-in opens at 1.30pm in summer and 4pm in winter. Curfew 11.30pm, chucking-out time 9.30am. Even with 260 beds it gets so busy in summer that reservations must be made by April. Breakfast and sheets included in the price – but remember to add the expense of the boat over to Giudecca (the nearest stop is Zitelle). No kitchen, but meals for around €10. HI card necessary, but you can join on the spot (€3). Dorms from €21.
| Accommodation
Domus Civica Calle Campazzo, San Polo 3082 T 041.721.103, Wwww.domuscivica.com. This Catholic women’s student hostel is open to travellers of both sexes from mid-June to mid-Sept. Most rooms are double, with free showers. No breakfast; 11.30pm curfew. Reductions for ISIC and Rolling Venice card holders. 1 Foresteria Valdese S. Maria Formosa, Castello 5170 T041.528.6797, Wwww.foresteriavenezia.it. Run by Waldensians, this hostel is in a wonderful palazzo, with flaking frescoes in the rooms and a large communal salon. It has several large dorms, plus rooms that can accommodate up to eight people. Reservations by phone only; dorm beds cannot be booked in advance, except by groups. Check-in 9am–1pm & 6–8pm. Dorm beds €25. Ostello Santa Fosca S. Maria dei Servi, Cannaregio 2372 T041.715.733, Wwww.santafosca.com. Student-run hostel in an atmospheric former Servite
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Venice has a large HI hostel and a few other hostel-like establishments – most run by religious foundations – offering basic accommodation. Some of the latter are more expensive than one-star hotels and B&Bs; we’ve listed only the low-cost options.
Camping There are some unlovely campsites near the airport – better to head out to the outer edge of the lagoon, to the Litorale del Cavallino, which stretches from Punta Sabbioni to Jésolo and has a total of around 60,000 pitches, many of them quite luxuriously appointed. Vaporetto #LN, from Fondamente Nove or San Zaccaria to
B&Bs and self-catering As you may expect in a city in which demand for accommodation is such that someone could get away with charging €100 for the privilege of sleeping on a mattress in the attic, much of Venice’s accommodation is not terribly attractive, but many B&Bs are excellent, offering accommodation that compares favourably with budget hotels – and some are in effect small-scale locande, with rooms of three-star standard or better. (A is defined in Venice as a private dwelling in which a maximum of three bedrooms are available to paying guests, with a minimum of one shared bathroom for guests’ exclusive use.) Full listings can be found at Wwww .turismovenezia.it. If you’re staying in Venice for at least a week, it can be worth looking at a selfcatering apartment. The tourist office has a list of landlords offering apartments at Wwww.turismovenezia.it, or you could look at Wwww.venice-rentals.com, www .visitvenice.co.uk or www.holiday-rentals.com.
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Punta Sabbioni, stops close to the two-star Miramare, Lungomare Dante Alighieri 29 (April–Oct; T 041.966.150, W www.camping-miramare.it); a bit further away there’s the more luxurious four-star Marina di Venezia, Via Montello 6, which adjoins the huge new AquaMarina waterpark (May–Sept; T 041.966.146, W www.marina divenezia.it). Bear in mind that it’s a forty-minute boat trip into the city from here. Back on the mainland there’s a two-star thousand-place site in Fusina, at Via Moranzani 93 (open all year; T 041.547.0064). A Linea Fusina water-bus links Fusina to the Záttere in central Venice (ACTV tickets not valid; hourly: late May– early Sept 8am–10pm; rest of year 8am–8pm), taking 25 minutes. Alternatively, you can get a bus to Mestre and change there for a bus or train. V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
The City The 118 islands of central Venice are divided into six districts known as sestieri, and the houses within each sestiere are numbered in a sequence that makes sense solely to the functionaries of the post office – this explains how buildings facing each other across an alleyway can have numbers that are separated by hundreds.
Museum and church passes
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In an attempt to make sure that tourists go to see more than just the big central monuments, a variety of museum cards have been introduced. The Palazzo Ducale and Museo Correr can be visited only with a museum card; at the other places you have the option of paying an entry charge just for that attraction. Passes are available from any of the participating museums. Note that accompanied disabled people have free access to all of the civic museums. There is also a combined ticket for the city’s state museums (the Accademia, Ca’ d’Oro and Museo Orientale), costing €11, or €5.50 concessions (see below).
Museum passes Musei di Piazza San Marco (Nov–March; €12, or €6.50 for ages 6–14, students under 30, EU citizens over 65 and Rolling Venice Card holders). Gets you into the Palazzo Ducale, Museo Correr, Museo Archeologico and the Biblioteca Marciana. San Marco Plus (April–Oct; €13/€7.50). Allows admission to these four, plus one other civic museum of your choice. The other civic museums are Ca’ Rezzonico, Casa Goldoni, Palazzo Mocenigo, Museo Fortuny, Ca’ Pésaro (the modern art and oriental museums), the Museo del Merletto (Burano) and the Museo del Vetro (Murano). Museum Pass (€18/12; valid six months). Covers all the civic museums above, allowing one visit to each. Note that the more expensive version of the Venice Card (see p.265) covers all of the museums covered by the Museum Pass.
Church pass
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Chorus Pass (€10; valid one year; Wwww.chorusvenezia.org). Allows one visit to each of the sixteen churches participating in the scheme. The individual entrance fee at each church is €3, and all are open to tourists from Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm (except where stated otherwise, below). The pass is available at the churches listed below, and the full version of the Venice Card (see p.268) also gives admission to all of them: the Frari (Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 1–6pm); the Gesuati; Madonna dell’Orto; the Redentore; San Giacomo dell’Orio; San Giobbe (Mon–Sat 10am–1.15pm); San Giovanni Elemosinario; San Pietro di Castello; San Polo; San Sebastiano; San Stae; Sant’Alvise (Mon–Sat 1.45–5pm); Santa Maria dei Miracoli; Santa Maria del Giglio; Santa Maria Formosa; Santo Stefano.
San Marco
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The section of Venice enclosed by the lower loop of the Canal Grande – a rectangle smaller than 1000m by 500m – is, in essence, the Venice of the travel brochures. The plush hotels are concentrated here, in the sestiere of San Marco, as are the swankier shops and the best-known cultural attractions of the city. “The finest drawing-room in Europe” was how Napoleon described its focal point, the Piazza San Marco – the only piazza in Venice, all other squares being campi or campielli. Less genteel phrases might seem appropriate on a suffocating summer afternoon, but the Piazza has been congested for centuries. Its parades, festivities and markets have always drawn visitors, the biggest attraction being an international trade fair known as the Fiera della Sensa that keeps the Piazza buzzing for the fortnight following the Ascension Day ceremony of the Marriage of Venice to the Sea. The coffee shops of the Piazza were a vital component of eighteenth-century high society, and the two survivors from that period – Florian and Quadri – are still the most expensive in town.
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Venice’s main thoroughfare, the Canal Grande, is almost 4km long and between thirty and seventy metres wide (but at no point much deeper than five metres), and it divides the city in half – three sestieri to the west and three to the east. The majority of the most important palaces in Venice stand on the Canal Grande, and the main facades of all of them are on the canalside. On the east side of the Canal Grande is the sestiere of San Marco, the area where the majority of the essential sights are clustered, and accordingly the most expensive and most crowded district of the city. The undoubted appeal of the area is matched in the quieter sestieri, where your chances of getting lost in the jumble of streets is almost guaranteed and provides one of the joys of any visit, offering the possibility of stumbling on some hidden gem of a square or tranquil side-canal. East of San Marco is Castello, and to the north is Cannaregio – both of which become more residential, and quieter, the further you get from the centre. On the other side of the Canal Grande, the largest of the sestieri is Dorsoduro, stretching from the fashionable quarter at the southern tip of the canal to the docks in the west. Santa Croce, named after a now-demolished church, roughly follows the curve of the Canal Grande from Piazzale Roma to a point just short of the Rialto, where it joins the smartest and commercially most active of the districts on this bank – San Polo.
The Basilica di San Marco
The Basilica di San Marco is the most exotic of Europe’s cathedrals, and no visitor can remain dispassionate when confronted by it. Herbert Spencer loathed it – “a fine sample of barbaric architecture”, but to John Ruskin it was a “treasureheap … a confusion of delight”. It’s certainly confusing, increasingly so as you come nearer and the details emerge; some knowledge of the history of the building helps bring a little order out of chaos.
Visiting the Basilica di San Marco The basilica is open to tourists Monday to Saturday 9.45am–5pm and Sunday 2–5pm (closes 4pm from November to Easter), though the Loggia dei Cavalli is open on Sunday morning. Entrance to the main part of the church is free, but admission fees totalling €9.50 are charged for certain parts of the church. Large bags have to be left, free of charge, at nearby Calle San Basso 315/A. If you’re visiting the basilica in summer, get there early – by midday the queues are enormous.
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Some history
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According to the legend of St Mark’s annunciation, the Evangelist was moored in the lagoon, on his way to Rome, when an angel appeared and told him that his body would rest there. (The angel’s salute – Pax tibi, Marce evangelista meus – is the text cut into the book that the Lion of St Mark is always shown holding.) The founders of Venice, having persuaded themselves of the sacred ordination of their city, duly went about fulfilling the angelic prophecy, and in 828 the body of St Mark was stolen from Alexandria and brought here. Modelled on Constantinople’s Church of the Twelve Apostles, the shrine of St Mark was consecrated in 832, but in 976 both the church and the Palazzo Ducale were burnt down. The present basilica was finished in 1094 and embellished over the succeeding centuries. Every trophy that the doge stuck onto his church (this church was not the cathedral of Venice but the doge’s own chapel) was proof of Venice’s secular might and so of the spiritual power of St Mark. The exterior, narthex and Loggia dei Cavalli
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Of the exterior features that can be seen easily from the ground, the Romanesque carvings of the central door demand the closest attention – especially the middle arch’s figures of the months and seasons and outer arch’s series of the trades of Venice. The carvings were begun around 1225 and finished in the early fourteenth century. Take a look also at the mosaic above the doorway on the far left – The Arrival of the Body of St Mark – which was made around 1260 (the only early mosaic left on the main facade) and includes the oldest known image of the basilica. From the Piazza you pass into the vestibule known as the narthex, which is decorated with thirteenth-century mosaics of Old Testament scenes on the domes and arches; The Madonna with Apostles and Evangelists, in the niches flanking the main door, date from the 1060s and are the oldest mosaics in San Marco. A steep staircase goes from the church’s main door up to the Museo di San Marco and the Loggia dei Cavalli (daily 9.45am–4.45pm; €4). Apart from giving you an all-round view, the loggia is also the best place from which to inspect the Gothic carvings along the apex of the facade. The horses outside are replicas, the genuine articles having been removed inside. Thieved from the Hippodrome of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, the horses are probably Roman works of the second century – the only such ancient group, or quadriga, to have survived. The interior
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With its undulating floor of twelfth-century patterned marble, its plates of eastern stone on the lower walls, and its four thousand square metres of mosaics covering every other inch of wall and vaulting, the interior of San Marco is the most opulent of any cathedral. One visit is not enough – there’s too much to take in at one go, and the shifting light reveals and hides parts of the decoration as the day progresses; try calling in for half an hour at the beginning and end of a couple of days. The majority of the mosaics were in position by the middle of the thirteenth century; some date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and others were created as recently as the eighteenth century to replace damaged early sections. Some of the best are the following: on the west wall, above the door, Christ, the Virgin and St Mark; in the west dome, Pentecost; on the arch between the west and central domes, the Crucifixion and Resurrection; in the central dome, Ascension; and in the east dome, Religion of Christ Foretold by the Prophets. From the south transept you can enter the Sanctuary (€2.50), where, behind the altar, you’ll find the most precious of San Marco’s treasures – the Pala d’Oro (Golden Altar Panel). Commissioned in 976 in Constantinople, the Pala was enlarged, enriched and rearranged by Byzantine goldsmiths in 1105, then by Venetians in 1209
The Palazzo Ducale
Some history
The government of Venice was administered through an intricate system of elected committees and councils – a system designed to limit the power of any individual – but for the last five hundred years of the republic’s existence only those families listed in the register of noble births and marriages known as the Libro d’Oro (Golden Book) were entitled to play a part in the system. At the head of the network was the doge, the one politician to sit on all the major councils of state and the only one elected for life; he could be immensely influential in policy and appointments, and restrictions were accordingly imposed on his actions to reduce the possibility of his abusing that power – his letters were read by censors and he wasn’t permitted to receive foreign delegations alone. The privileges of the job far outweighed the inconveniences though, and men campaigned for years to increase their chances of election.
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The Palazzo Ducale (daily: April–Oct 9am–7pm; Nov–March 9am–5pm; entrance with Museum Card – see box, p.274) was far more than the residence of the doge – it was the home of all of Venice’s governing councils, many of its courts, a sizeable number of its civil servants and even its prisons.
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(to incorporate some less cumbersome loot from the Fourth Crusade) and again (finally) in 1345. The completed screen holds 83 enamel plaques, 74 enamelled roundels, 38 chiselled figures, 300 sapphires, 300 emeralds, 400 garnets, 15 rubies, 1300 pearls and a couple of hundred other stones. In a corner of the south transept is the door of the Treasury (€3), a small but dazzling line-up of chalices, reliquaries, candelabra and so on – many from the great Constantinople robbery of 1204. Back in the main body of the church, there’s still more to see on the lower levels of the building. Don’t overlook the rood screen’s marble figures of The Virgin, St Mark and the Apostles, carved in 1394 by the dominant sculptors in Venice at that time, Jacobello and Pietro Paolo Dalle Masegne. The pulpits on each side of the screen were assembled in the early fourteenth century from miscellaneous panels (some from Constantinople); the new doge was presented to the people from the right-hand one. The tenth-century Icon of the Madonna of Nicopeia (in the chapel on the east side of the north transept) is the most revered religious image in Venice; it used to be one of the most revered in Constantinople.
The Porta della Carta and courtyard
Like the basilica, the Palazzo Ducale has been rebuilt many times since its foundation in the first years of the ninth century. The principal entrance to the palazzo – the Porta della Carta – is one of the most ornate Gothic works in the city. It was
The Itinerari Segreti Go behind the scenes at the palace on one of the Itinerari Segreti del Palazzo Ducale, an intriguing guided tour through the warren of offices and passageways that interlocks with the public rooms of the building. It’s not cheap (€16, or €10 with a Venice Card, see p.265, or a Museum Pass or I Musei di Piazza San Marco/San Marco Plus card), but well worth the price, and covers entry to the whole palace. Tickets can be booked up to 48hr in advance on T041.520.9070; for visits on the next or same day go in person to the Palazzo Ducale ticket desk to check availability; the tour is held in English every day at 9.55am, 10.45am and 11.35am.
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commissioned in 1438 by Doge Francesco Fóscari from Bartolomeo and Giovanni Bon, but the figures of Fóscari and his lion are replicas – the originals were pulverized in 1797 as a favour to Napoleon. Fóscari’s head survived the hammering, however, and is on display inside. Tourists no longer enter the building by the Porta della Carta, but instead are herded through a doorway on the lagoon side. Once through the ticket hall you emerge in the courtyard, opposite the other end of the passageway into the Palazzo – the Arco Fóscari. The interior V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
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The itinerary begins on the left side of the courtyard, where the finest of the capitals from the Palazzo’s exterior arcade are displayed in the Museo dell’Opera. Upstairs, the route takes you through the doge’s private apartments, then on to the Anticollegio, the room in which embassies had to wait before being admitted to the presence of the doge and his cabinet. This is one of the richest rooms in the Palazzo Ducale for paintings: four pictures by Tintoretto hang on the door walls, and facing the windows is Veronese’s Rape of Europa. The cycle of paintings on the ceiling of the adjoining Sala del Collegio is also by Veronese, and he features strongly again in the most stupendous room in the building – the Sala del Maggior Consiglio. Veronese’s ceiling panel of The Apotheosis of Venice is suspended over the dais from which the doge oversaw the sessions of the city’s general assembly; the backdrop is Tintoretto’s immense Paradiso, painted towards the end of his life, with the aid of his son, Domenico. At the opposite end there’s a curiosity: the frieze of portraits of the first 76 doges (the series continues in the Sala dello Scrutinio – through the door at the far end) is interrupted by a painted black veil, marking the place where Doge Marin Falier would have been honoured had he not been beheaded for conspiring against the state in 1355. A couple of rooms later you descend to the underbelly of the Venetian state, crossing the Ponte dei Sospiri, or Bridge of Sighs, to the prisons. Before the construction of these cells in the early seventeenth century all prisoners were kept in the Piombi (the Leads), under the roof of the Palazzo Ducale, or in the Pozzi (the Wells) in the bottom two storeys; the new block was occupied mainly by petty criminals. The route finishes with a detour through the Pozzi, but if you want to see the Piombi, and the rooms in which the day-to-day administration of Venice took place, you have to go on one of the special “secret” tours (see box, p.277). The Campanile and Torre dell’Orologio
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Most of the landscape of the Piazza dates from the great period of urban renewal that began at the end of the fifteenth century and went on for much of the following century. The one exception – excluding San Marco itself – is the Campanile (daily: Easter–June & Oct 9am–7pm; July–Sept 9am–9pm; Nov–Easter 9am–3.45pm; usually closed for 20 days after Christmas; €8), which began life as a lighthouse in the ninth century and was modified frequently up to the early sixteenth. The present structure is a reconstruction: the original tower collapsed on July 14, 1902 – a catastrophe that injured nobody, except a cat. The collapse reduced to rubble the Loggetta at the base of the campanile, but somehow it was pieced together again; built between 1537 and 1549 by Sansovino, it has served as a meeting-room for the nobility, a guardhouse and the place at which the state lottery was drawn. At 99 metres, the Campanile is the tallest structure in the city, and from the top (there is a lift) you can make out virtually every building, but not a single canal. The other tower in the Piazza, the Torre dell’Orologio (Clock Tower; daily 9am–3.30pm; tours in English Mon–Wed 10am & 11am, Thurs–Sun 1pm, 2pm & 3pm; €12 ticket includes the Museo Correr, and must be pre-booked, either at the
Correr, or on T 041.520.9070, or at W www.museiciviciveneziani.it), is ornately decorated, with an astronomical clock filling much of the facade and two bronze figures – popularly known as the Moors – striking the bell on the roof. The tower was built between 1496 and 1506, while the clock mechanism dates from 1753. If you’re in Venice for Epiphany or Ascension Day, you’ll witness the clock’s star turn – on the hour the Magi, led by an angel, troop out and bow to the figure of the Madonna. After a long restoration, the tower is now open to the public; fascinating hour-long tours take you up the steep narrow staircase, stopping on each of the five floors to admire the clock’s complex workings. The Procuratie and Museo Correr V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
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Away to the left of the Torre dell’Orologio stretches the Procuratie Vecchie; begun around 1500 by Codussi, this block housed the offices of the Procurators of St Mark, a committee of nine men whose responsibilities included the upkeep of the basilica and other public buildings. A century or so after taking possession, the procurators were moved to the opposite side of the Piazza, into the Procuratie Nuove. Napoleon converted these apartments and offices into a royal palace and then, having realized that the building lacked a ballroom, remedied the deficiency by smashing down the church of San Geminiano to connect the two procuratie with a new wing for dancing. Generally known as the Ala Napoleonica, this short side of the Piazza is partly occupied by the Museo Correr (daily: April–Oct 10am–7pm; Nov–March 10am–5pm; entrance with Museum Card – see box, p.274), an immense tripledecker museum with a vast historical collection of coins, weapons, regalia, prints, paintings and miscellanea. Much of this is heavy going unless you have an intense interest in Venetian history, though there’s an appealing exhibition of Venetian applied arts, and one show-stopping item in the form of the original blocks and a print of Jacopo de’ Barbari’s astonishing aerial view of Venice, engraved in 1500. The Quadreria on the second floor is no rival for the Accademia’s collection, but it does set out clearly the evolution of painting in Venice from the thirteenth century to around 1500, and it contains some gems – the most famous being the Carpaccio picture usually known as The Courtesans, although its subjects are really a couple of bored-looking bourgeois ladies. The section of the Correr devoted to the Museo del Risorgimento is largely given over to the 1848 rebellion against the Austrians. Accessed from within the Correr, the Museo Archeologico is a somewhat scrappy museum, with cases of Roman coins and gems, fragments of sarcophagi and inscriptions, headless statues and bodiless heads interspersed with the odd Bronze Age, Egyptian or Assyrian relic. From the archeological museum you pass into the hall of the Libreria Sansoviniana, described by Palladio as “perhaps the richest and most ornate building to be created since the times of ancient Greece and Rome”. Paintings by Veronese, Tintoretto, Andrea Schiavone and others cover the walls and ceiling, gazing down on selected volumes from the library’s immense collection; Titian’s Allegory of Wisdom occupies the central panel of the ceiling of the anteroom, beyond which lies the intended approach to the library, a magnificent staircase encrusted with stuccowork by Vittoria. The Piazzetta
The Piazzetta – the open space between San Marco and the waterfront pavement known as the Molo – was the area where the politicians used to gather before meetings. Facing the Palazzo Ducale is Sansovino’s masterpiece, the Libreria Sansoviniana (see above), which is attached to his first major building in Venice, the Zecca (Mint), built between 1537 and 1545 on the site of the thirteenth-century
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mint. By the beginning of the fifteenth century the city’s prosperity was such that the Venetian coinage was in use in every European exchange, and the doge could with some justification call Venice “the mistress of all the gold in Christendom”. The Piazzetta’s two columns were brought here from the Levant at the end of the twelfth century, in company with a third, which fell off the barge and still lies somewhere just off the Molo. The figures perched on top are St Theodore (the original is in the Palazzo Ducale), patron saint of Venice when it was dependent on Byzantium, and a Chimera, customized to look like the Lion of St Mark. Public executions were carried out between the columns, the techniques employed ranging from straightforward hanging to burial alive, head downwards. Superstitious Venetians avoid passing between them. North of the Piazza
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The Mercerie, a chain of streets that starts under the Torre dell’Orologio and finishes at the Campo San Bartolomeo, is the most direct route between San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, and has always been the main land thoroughfare of the city and a prime site for its shopkeepers. For those immune to the charms of window-shopping there’s little reason to linger until you reach the church of San Salvador ( June–Aug Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 4–7pm, Sun 4–7pm; Sept–May Mon–Sat 9am–noon & 3–7.15pm, Sun 3–7.15pm), an early sixteenth-century church cleverly planned in the form of three Greek crosses placed end to end. It has a couple of late Titian paintings – an altarpiece of the Transfiguration (1560) and an Annunciation (1566), whose awkward angel is often blamed on the great man’s assistants. The end of the south transept is filled by the tomb of Caterina Cornaro (see p.338). The Campo San Bartolomeo, close to the foot of the Rialto Bridge, is at its best in the evening, when it’s as packed as any bar in town. If the crush gets too much, you can retire to the nearby Campo San Luca, another focus of after-work gatherings but not as much of a pressure-cooker as San Bartolomeo. Beyond Campo San Luca is Campo Manin, on the south side of which is a sign for the spiral staircase known as the Scala del Bovolo (bovolo means “snail shell” in Venetian dialect), a piece of flamboyant engineering dating from around 1500 (closed for restoration; probable opening times Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 9am–2pm). The Museo Fortuny (Wed–Mon 10am–6pm; €9) is also close at hand, similarly tucked away in a spot you’d never accidentally pass. In addition to making his famous silk dresses, which were said to be fine enough to be threaded through a wedding ring, Mariano Fortuny (1871–1949) was a painter, architect, engraver, photographer and sculptor. The palazzo in which the museum is housed is so fragile that only 75 people are allowed in at a time, so you may have to queue in summer. West of the Piazza
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Although Calle Larga XXII Marzo has the city’s highest concentration of fashionable shops, the area to the west of the Piazza is less frenetic than the streets to the north. After leaving the Piazza, you soon reach the hypnotically ugly San Moisè (Mon–Sat 9.30am–12.30pm). The facade sculpture, featuring a species of camel unknown to zoology, was created in 1668 by Heinrich Meyring. Halfway along the Calle Larga XXII Marzo, on the right, is the Calle del Sartor da Veste, which takes you over a canal and into the Campo San Fantin, where the Renaissance church of San Fantin has a graceful domed apse by Sansovino. Across the campo is Venice’s largest and oldest theatre, La Fenice, opened in December 1792, rebuilt in 1836 after the place had been wrecked by fire, but devastated by yet another fire on the night of January 29, 1996. Tours of the magnificently restored interior with an audioguide (45min; €7) can be booked at the box office.
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Back on the main road to the Accademia, another very odd church awaits – Santa Maria del Giglio, otherwise known as Santa Maria Zobenigo (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; €3 or Chorus Pass – see box, p.274). You can stare at this all day and still not find a single Christian image: the statues are of the five Barbaro brothers who financed the rebuilding of the church in 1678; Virtue, Honour, Fame and Wisdom hover respectfully around them; and the maps in relief depict the towns the brothers graced during their military and diplomatic careers. The interior, full to bursting with devotional sculptures and pictures (notably The Evangelists by Tintoretto), overcompensates for the impiety of the exterior. The tilting campanile that soon looms into view over the vapid church of San Maurizio belongs to Santo Stefano, which stands at the end of the next campo – the spacious Campo Santo Stefano. The church of Santo Stefano (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm) dates from the thirteenth century, but was rebuilt in the fourteenth and altered again in the first half of the fifteenth; the Gothic doorway and the ship’s keel roof both belong to this last phase. The best paintings are in the sacristy (€3 or Chorus Pass – see p.274): The Agony in the Garden, The Last Supper and The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet, all late works by Tintoretto. A short distance to the north of Campo Santo Stefano lies the gigantic Palazzo Grassi (W www.palazzograssi.it), which in 2005 was acquired by a consortium headed by François Pinault, France’s pre-eminent collector of modern art. A couple of years later, Pinault acquired the Dogana di Mare (see p.283), which has become the main showcase for his vast collection (he owns more than 2500 pieces), while the Grassi stages immense art shows that also draw heavily on works owned by him. As if that weren’t enough, he has also undertaken to restore the small eighteenth-century theatre behind the Grassi, so that it can be used for concerts, lectures and so forth.
Dorsoduro Some of the finest architecture in Venice, both domestic and public, is to be found in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, a situation partly attributable to the stability of its sandbanks – Dorsoduro means “hard back”. Yet for all its attractions, not many visitors wander off the strip that runs between the main sights of the area – Ca’ Rezzonico, the Accademia, the Salute and the Punta della Dogana. The Accademia
The Galleria dell’Accademia (Mon 8.15am–2pm, Tues–Sun 8.15am–7.15pm; €6.50) is one of the finest specialist collections of European art, following the history of Venetian painting from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. With San Marco and the Palazzo Ducale, the Accademia completes the triad of obligatory tourist sights in Venice, but admissions are presently restricted to batches of 300 people at a time, so queues can be huge in high season. This situation will change when the gallery takes over the renovated ground-floor and basement rooms of the convent buildings, an expansion which has entailed moving the art college to the nearby Casa degli Incurabili. When this huge rebuilding project is completed, the Accademia will have space not just for the scores of paintings currently held in storage, but also for large-scale one-off exhibitions. The upperfloor galleries of the new Accademia will also have a somewhat different layout than the one given below. The early Renaissance
The gallery is laid out in a roughly chronological succession of rooms going anticlockwise. The first room at the top of the stairs is the fifteenth-century assembly room of the Scuola della Carità, whose church and convent the gallery
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now occupies. This has works by the earliest known Venetian painters, of whom Paolo Veneziano (from the first half of the fourteenth century) and his follower Lorenzo Veneziano are the most absorbing. Room 2 moves on to works from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, with large altarpieces that are contemplative even when the scenes are far from calm. Carpaccio’s strange and gruesome Crucifixion and Glorification of the Ten Thousand Martyrs of Mount Ararat (painted around 1512) and his Presentation of Jesus in the Temple accompany works by Giovanni Bellini and Cima da Conegliano. In the next room you can observe the emergence of the characteristically Venetian treatment of colour, but there’s nothing here as exciting as the small paintings in rooms 4 and 5, a high point of the collection. As well as an exquisite St George by Mantegna and a series of Giovanni Bellini Madonnas, this section contains Giorgione’s enigmatic Tempest. The High Renaissance
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Rooms 6 to 8 introduce some of the heavyweights of High-Renaissance Venetian painting: Tintoretto, Titian and Lorenzo Lotto. Room 10 is dominated by epic productions, and an entire wall is filled by Paolo Veronese’s Christ in the House of Levi. Originally called The Last Supper, this picture provoked a stern reaction from the Court of the Holy Office: “Does it appear to you fitting that at our Lord’s last supper you should paint buffoons, drunkards, Germans, dwarfs, and similar indecencies?” Veronese responded simply by changing the title, which made the work acceptable. The pieces by Tintoretto in here include three legends of St Mark: St Mark Rescues a Slave (1548), which was the painting that made his reputation, The Theft of the Body of St Mark and St Mark Saves a Saracen (both 1560s). All of these show Tintoretto’s love of energy and drama – from the physical or psychological drama of the subject matter to the technical energy of his brush strokes, perception of colour and use of light. Opposite is Titian’s last painting, a Pietà intended for his own tomb in the Frari. The eighteenth century
Room 11 contains a number of works by Giambattista Tiepolo, the most prominent painter of eighteenth-century Venice, including two shaped fragments rescued from the Scalzi (1743–45) and The Translation of the Holy House of Loreto (1743), a sketch for the same ceiling. There’s also more from Tintoretto; the Madonna dei Tesorieri (1566) shows facial types still found in Venice today. The following stretch of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century paintings isn’t too enthralling – the highlights are portraits by Rosalba Carriera and interiors by Pietro Longhi in room 17. The Vivarinis, the Bellinis and Carpaccio
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Around the corner and to the right are more works from the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Alvise Vivarini’s Santa Chiara is outstanding. Giovanni Bellini is represented by four triptychs painted, with workshop assistance, in the 1460s. The extraordinary Blessed Lorenzo Giustinian is by his brother, Gentile; one of the oldest surviving Venetian canvases, it was possibly used as a standard in processions, which would account for its state. The magnificent cycle of pictures painted around 1500 for the Scuola di San Giovanni Evangelista, mainly illustrating the miracles of the Relic of the Cross, is displayed in room 20, off a corridor to the left. All of the paintings are replete with fascinating local details, but particularly rich are Carpaccio’s Cure of a Lunatic and Gentile Bellini’s Recovery of the Relic from the Canale di San Lorenzo and Procession of the Relic in the Piazza. The next room contains a complete cycle of pictures by
Carpaccio illustrating the Story of St Ursula, painted for the Scuola di Sant’Orsola at San Zanipolo (1490–94). Restored in the mid-1980s, the paintings form one of Italy’s most unforgettable groups. It tells the legend of Ursula, a Breton princess, who undertook a pilgrimage with a company of 11,000 virgins that ended with a massacre by the Huns. Finally, in room 24 (the former hostel of the Scuola), there’s Titian’s Presentation of the Virgin (dating from 1539). It was painted for the place where it hangs, as was the triptych by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna (1446). The Guggenheim, the Salute and the Punta della Dogana V E NI C E AND THE V E NE TO
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Within five minutes’ walk of the Accademia, east beyond the Campo San Vio, is the unfinished Palazzo Venier dei Leoni, home of Peggy Guggenheim for thirty years until her death in 1979 and now the base for the Guggenheim Collection (Wed–Mon 10am–6pm; June & July closes 10pm Sat; €12). Her private collection is a quirky choice of mainly excellent pieces from her favourite modernist movements and artists. Prime pieces include Brancusi’s Bird in Space and Maestra, De Chirico’s Red Tower and Nostalgia of the Poet, Max Ernst’s Robing of the Bride, sculpture by Laurens and Lipchitz and paintings by Malevich. Continuing along the line of the Canal Grande, you come to the massive Santa Maria della Salute, better known simply as the Salute (daily 9am–noon & 3–5.30pm). It was built to fulfil a Senate decree of October 22, 1630, that a new church would be dedicated to Mary if the city were delivered from the plague that was ravaging it – an outbreak that killed about a third of the population. Work began in 1631 on Baldassare Longhena’s design and the church was consecrated in 1687. On November 21, for the Festa della Salute (salute meaning “health”), a pontoon bridge is built across the Canal Grande to the steps of the church. In 1656, a hoard of Titian paintings from the suppressed church of Santo Spirito was moved here and is now housed in the sacristy (€2). The most prominent of these is the altarpiece St Mark Enthroned with Saints Cosmas, Damian, Sebastian and Rocco (the plague saints). The Marriage at Cana, with its dramatic lighting and perspective, is by Tintoretto (1561), and features likenesses of a number of the artist’s friends. On the point where the Canal Grande and the Giudecca canal merge stands the huge Dogana di Mare (Customs House), another late seventeenth-century building, which in 2009 reopened as the Punta della Dogana exhibition space (Wed–Mon 10am–7pm; €15). Financed by François Pinault, the co-owner of Palazzo Grassi, the Dogana – like the Grassi – has been beautifully renovated to designs by Tadao Ando, and is unquestionably one of the world’s great showcases for contemporary art. The entry charge is savage, but well over one hundred works from Pinault’s collection are usually on display here at any one time, and he has invested in most of the really big names of the current art scene, so you can expect to see pieces by the likes of Cindy Sherman, Luc Tuymans, Cy Twombly, Thomas Schütte, Maurizio Cattelan, Jeff Koons, the Chapman brothers and Marlene Dumas, to name but a few. Along the Záttere to San Sebastiano
Stretching along the Dorsoduro’s southern waterfront from the Punta della Dogana to the Stazione Maríttima, the Záttere (“Rafts”) was originally the place where most of the bulky goods coming into Venice were unloaded, and is now a popular place for a Sunday stroll. Its principal sight is the church of Santa Maria del Rosario, invariably known as the Gesuati (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; €3, or
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Chorus Pass – see box, p.274); it’s worth a stop for its paintings by Giambattista Tiepolo: three ceiling panels showing scenes from the life of St Dominic, and an altarpiece, Madonna with Dominican Saints. A diversion to the right straight after the Gesuati takes you past the squero di San Trovaso, one of the very few gondola workshops left in Venice, and on to the church of San Trovaso (Mon–Sat 2.30–5.30pm). Its paintings include a fine pair by Tintoretto (The Temptation of St Anthony and The Last Supper), and two large scenes that were begun by Tintoretto and completed by his son and other assistants: The Adoration of the Magi and The Expulsion from the Temple. The church of San Sebastiano (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; €3, or Chorus Pass – see box, p.274), by the Stazione Maríttima, was built between 1505 and 1545 and was the parish church of Paolo Veronese, who provided most of its paintings and is buried here. He was first brought in to paint the ceiling of the sacristy with a Coronation of the Virgin and the Four Evangelists, followed by the Scenes from the Life of St Esther on the ceiling of the church. He then painted the dome of the chancel (since destroyed), and with the help of his brother, Benedetto, moved on to the walls of the church and the nuns’ choir. The paintings around the high altar and the organ came last, being painted in the 1560s. Ca’ Rezzonico and Ca’ Fóscari
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From San Sebastiano it’s a straightforward walk back towards the Canal Grande along Calle Avogaria and Calle Lunga San Barnaba, a route that deposits you in Campo San Barnaba, just yards from the Ca’ Rezzonico, now the Museo del Settecento Veneziano (Wed–Mon: April–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–March 10am–5pm; €7). Having acquired the Ca’ Rezzonico in 1934, the comune of Venice set about furnishing and decorating it with eighteenth-century items and materials (or their closest modern equivalent), so giving the place the feel of a wellappointed house. In the collection, the plentiful and outlandish carvings by Andrea Brustolon are as likely to elicit revulsion as admiration. As for the paintings, the highlights are Pietro Longhi’s affectionate illustrations of Venice social life and pictures by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo – the latter’s frescoes of clowns and carnival scenes are his best-known images. Immediately north of Ca’ Rezzonico, the cluster of Gothic palaces fronting the Canal Grande constitutes one of the city’s architectural glories. Built in 1435, the Ca’ Fóscari, which Ruskin thought “the noblest example in Venice” of late Gothic, was the home of Doge Francesco Fóscari, and is part of the university. Adjoining Ca’ Foscari are the Palazzi Giustinian, a pair of palaces built in the mid-fifteenth century for two brothers who wanted attached but self-contained houses. One of the palazzi was Wagner’s home for a while. Campo Santa Margherita and around
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The nearby Campo Santa Margherita is the largest square on this side of the Canal Grande, but it’s a modest one, with no grandiose architecture. This is the social heart of Dorsoduro, and its bars and cafés draw much of their custom from the nearby university. The Scuola Grande dei Carmini (daily 11am–4pm; €5), in the southwest corner, is a showcase for Giambattista Tiepolo, whose ceiling paintings in the main upstairs hall from the early 1740s centre on the panel The Virgin in Glory. To the north of the campo stands the church of San Pantaleone (Mon–Sat 10am– noon & 4–6pm), which possesses a Coronation of the Virgin by Antonio Vivarini and Giovanni d’Alemagna (in the chapel to the left of the chancel) and Veronese’s last painting, San Pantaleone Healing a Boy (second chapel on right). The church also boasts the most melodramatic ceiling in the city: The Martyrdom and Apotheosis of San Pantaleone, which kept Gian Antonio Fumiani busy from 1680 to 1704.
Venice in flood
San Polo and Santa Croce
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Two sestieri are covered in this section: San Polo, which extends from the Rialto market to the Frari area; and Santa Croce, a far less sight-heavy district which lies to the north of San Polo and reaches right across to Piazzale Roma. There are two main routes through the district – one runs between the Rialto and the Scalzi Bridge, the other takes you in the opposite direction from the Rialto, down towards the Accademia. Virtually all the essential sights lie around these two routes.
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Called the acqua alta, the winter flooding of Venice is caused by a combination of seasonal tides, fluctuations in atmospheric pressure in the Adriatic and persistent southeasterly winds, and has always been a feature of Venetian life. In recent years, however, it has been getting worse, with more than a hundred floods a year – though most of these are minor. If the siren sounds, you can expect a serious flood in three to four hours’ time. A system of plank walkways is immediately set up in the low-lying parts of the city – most boat stops have maps of where those walkways run. The usual high-tide season is September to April, with the worst flooding between November and February. A grand plan is being implemented to protect the city, involving building a tidal barrier across the three entrances to the lagoon. Nicknamed Moisè (Moses), the barrier aroused considerable opposition, both to its cost and to its potential environmental impact. However, mounting concern about global warming gave the matter more urgency and has led to widespread acceptance. More than twenty years after the first plan was submitted, work finally began on the barrier in 2003 and is due to be completed in 2012.
The Rialto Bridge
The famous Ponte di Rialto (Rialto Bridge) is the bustling link between San Marco and San Polo, standing at a bend in the Canal Grande, lined with shops and constantly thronged with locals and tourists. The current structure superseded a succession of wooden structures – one of Carpaccio’s Miracles of the True Cross, in the Accademia, shows what one of the old drawbridges looked like. The decision to construct a stone bridge was taken in 1524, and the job was awarded to the aptly named Antonio da Ponte, whose top-heavy design was described by Edward Gibbon as “a fine bridge, spoilt by two rows of houses upon it”. Until 1854, when the first Accademia Bridge was built, this was the only point at which the Canal Grande could be crossed on foot. From the Rialto to Ca’ Pésaro
West of the Rialto Bridge, the relatively stable building land drew some of the earliest lagoon settlers to the high bank (rivo alto) that was to develop into the Rialto district. While the political centre of the new city grew up around San Marco, the Rialto became the commercial zone. It was through the markets of the Rialto that Venice earned its reputation as the bazaar of Europe. Virtually anything could be bought or sold here: Italian fabrics, precious stones, silver plate and gold jewellery, and spices and dyes from the Orient. After a fire destroyed everything in the area except the church in 1514, work began on the Fabbriche Vecchie (the arcaded buildings along the Ruga degli Orefici and around the Campo San Giacomo); Sansovino’s Fabbriche Nuove (running along the Canal Grande from Campo Cesare Battisti) followed about thirty years later.
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Today’s Rialto market may be tamer than that of Venice at its peak, but it’s still one of the liveliest spots in the city, and one of the few places where it’s possible to stand in a crowd and hear nothing but Italian spoken. There’s a shoal of mementosellers by the church and along the Ruga degli Orefici; the market proper lies between them and the Canal Grande – mainly fruit stalls around the Campo San Giacomo, vegetable stalls and butchers’ shops as you go through to the Campo Battisti, after which you come to the fish market. A popular Venetian legend asserts that the city was founded on Friday, March 25, 421 AD at exactly midday; from the same legend derives the claim that the church of San Giacomo di Rialto (Mon–Sat 9.30am–noon & 4–6pm) was founded in that year, and is thus the oldest church in Venice. Whether it is or not, what is not disputed is that the church was rebuilt in 1071 and that parts of the present structure date from then. The church of San Cassiano (daily 9am–noon & 5–7pm) is a building you’re bound to pass as you wander west from the Rialto. Don’t be put off by its barn-like appearance: it contains three paintings by Tintoretto, The Resurrection, The Descent into Limbo and The Crucifixion. The last of these is one of the greatest pictures in Venice, a startling composition dominated not by the cross but by the ladder on which the executioners stand. Nearby, and signposted from San Cassiano, is the Ca’ Pésaro, in which you’ll find both the Galleria d’Arte Moderna and Museo d’Arte Orientale (Tues– Sun: April–Oct 10am–6pm; Nov–March 10am–5pm; €5.50, or Museum Pass, see box, p.274, or Venice Card, see box, p.265). Pieces bought from the Biennale make up the core of the modern art collection, with Italian artists predominating; it’s not one of Europe’s best. The oriental galleries display a jumble of lacquer work, armour, screens and weaponry. Campo San Polo
The largest square in Venice after the Piazza, the Campo San Polo used to be the city’s favourite bullfighting arena as well as the site of weekly markets and occasional fairs. Nowadays it’s a combination of outdoor social centre, summertime outdoor cinema and children’s sports stadium. The bleak interior of San Polo church (Mon–Sat 10am–5pm; €3, or Chorus Pass – see box, p.274) should be visited for The Last Supper by Tintoretto and Giandomenico Tiepolo’s The Stations of the Cross, a series painted when the artist was only twenty. The sober piety of these pictures will come as a surprise if you’ve been to the Ca’ Rezzonico, though it often seems that his interest was less in the central drama than in the portraits that occupy the edges of the stage. The Frari
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The Franciscans were granted a large plot of land near San Polo in about 1250, not long after the death of St Francis. Replacement of their first church by the present Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari – more generally known simply as the Frari (Mon–Sat 9am–6pm, Sun 1–6pm; €3, or Chorus Pass – see p.274) – began in the mid-fourteenth century and took over a hundred years. This mountain of brick is not an immediately attractive building but its collection of paintings, sculptures and monuments makes it a guaranteed highlight of anyone’s visit. Wherever you stand in the Frari, you’ll be facing something that rewards your attention. Apart from the Salute and the Accademia, the Frari is the only building in Venice with more than a single significant work by Titian. One of these – The Assumption, painted in 1518 – you will see almost immediately as you look towards the altar, a swirling, dazzling piece of compositional bravura for which there was no precedent in Venetian art. The other Titian masterpiece here, the Madonna di
The Scuola Grande di San Rocco and around
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At the rear of the Frari is a place you should on no account miss: the Scuola Grande di San Rocco (daily 9.30am–5.30pm; €7). St Rocco (St Roch) was attributed with the power to cure the plague and other serious illnesses, so when the saint’s body was brought to Venice in 1485, this scuola began to profit from donations from people wishing to invoke his aid. In 1515 it commissioned this prestigious building, and soon after its completion in 1560, work began on the decorative scheme that was to put the Scuola’s rivals in the shade – a cycle of more than fifty major paintings by Tintoretto.
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Ca’ Pésaro, was equally innovative in its displacement of the figure of the Virgin from the centre of the picture. Two funerary monuments embodying the emergence in Venice of Renaissance sculptural technique flank the Titian Assumption: on the left is the tomb of Doge Niccolò Tron, by Antonio Rizzo and assistants, dating from 1476; on the right, the more chaotic tomb of Doge Francesco Fóscari, carved by Antonio and Paolo Bregno shortly after Fóscari’s death in 1457. Head through the door in the right transept for the sacristy, where on the altar stands a picture that alone would justify a visit to the Frari – the Madonna and Child with Saints Nicholas of Bari, Peter, Mark and Benedict, painted in 1488 by Giovanni Bellini. In the words of Henry James, “It is as solemn as it is gorgeous and as simple as it is deep.” Two massive tombs take up much of the nave. One is the bombastic monument to Titian, built in the mid-nineteenth century on the supposed site of his grave. Opposite is a tomb of similarly pompous dimensions but of redeeming peculiarity: the mausoleum of Canova, erected in 1827 by his pupils, following a design he had made for the tomb of Titian.
The Tintoretto paintings
To appreciate the evolution of Tintoretto’s art you have to begin in the smaller room on the upper storey, the Sala dell’Albergo. In 1564 the Scuola held a competition for the contract to paint its first picture. Tintoretto won the contest by rigging up a finished painting in the very place for which the winning picture was destined – the centre of the ceiling. The protests of his rivals, who had simply submitted sketches, were to no avail. Virtually an entire wall of the Sala is occupied by the stupendous Crucifixion. As Ruskin’s loquacious guide to the cycle concludes: “I must leave this picture to work its will on the spectator; for it is beyond all analysis, and above all praise.” In the main upper hall, the Old Testament subjects depicted in the three large panels of the ceiling, with their references to the alleviation of physical suffering, are coded declarations of the Scuola’s charitable activities: Moses Striking Water from the Rock, The Miracle of the Brazen Serpent and The Miraculous Fall of Manna. The paintings around the walls, all based on the New Testament, are an amazing feat of sustained inventiveness, in which every convention of perspective, lighting, colour and even anatomy is defied. A caricature of the irascible Tintoretto (with a jarful of paint brushes) is incorporated into the trompe-l’oeil carvings by the seventeenthcentury sculptor Francesco Pianta. Displayed on easels, either in the sala or main hall – they are often moved – are a handful of paintings that are easy to miss, given the competition. Christ Carrying the Cross is now generally thought to be an early Titian, though some still maintain Giorgione’s authorship; Titian’s Annunciation is similarly influenced by the earlier master. Two early Tiepolo paintings, also on easels, relieve the eyes with a wash of airy colour.
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The paintings on the ground floor were created between 1583 and 1587, when Tintoretto was in his late 60s. The turbulent Annunciation is one of the most arresting images of the event ever painted, and there are few Renaissance landscapes to match those of The Flight into Egypt and the small paintings of St Mary Magdalen and St Mary of Egypt. The church of San Rocco
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Yet more paintings by Tintoretto adorn the neighbouring church of San Rocco (daily 9.30am–5.30pm). On the south wall of the nave you’ll find St Roch Taken to Prison, and below it The Pool of Bethesda – though only the latter is definitely by Tintoretto. In the chancel are four large works, all of them difficult to see properly: the best are St Roch Curing the Plague Victims (lower right) and St Roch in Prison (lower left).
Cannaregio In the northernmost section of Venice, CANNAREGIO, you can go from the bustle of the train station and the horrible Lista di Spagna to areas which, although no longer rural (Cannaregio comes from canna, meaning “reed”) are still among the quietest and prettiest parts of the whole city. The district also has the dubious distinction of containing the world’s original ghetto. The station area
Right next to the station stands the Scalzi, or Santa Maria di Nazareth (daily 7am–noon & 4–7pm; free). Built by Baldassare Longhena in the 1670s for the barefoot (scalzi) order of Carmelites, the church has frescoes by Giambattista Tiepolo in the first chapel on the left and the second on the right, but his major work on the ceiling was destroyed in 1915 by an Austrian bomb. A couple of fragments, now in the Accademia, were all that was salvaged. The Lista di Spagna, running northeast from the train station, takes its name from the Spanish embassy, which used to be at no. 168. The street is now completely given over to the tourist trade, with shops and stalls, bars, restaurants and hotels all competing for your money. Whether you are hunting for trinkets, food or a bed, you’ll find better elsewhere. The church of San Geremia (Mon–Sat 8am–noon & 3.30–6.30pm, Sun 9.15am–12.15pm & 5.30–6.30pm) at the end of the street is chiefly notable for being the present home of St Lucy, martyred in Siracuse in 304. Lucy tore her own eyes out after an unwanted suitor kept complimenting her on their beauty, and hence became the patron saint of eyesight: the glass case on the high altar contains her desiccated body.